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Hello from the Easy Read Online team and welcome to this month’s update! Spotlight projects Unlimited We recently worked with Unlimited, an arts organisation that supports Disabled artists in producing work. They have recently announced their UK and International Partner Awards for Disabled Artists . We were pleased to support Unlimited with their Easy Read documents for each Partner Award. We hope this supports more Disabled people to understand each award and how they can apply. If you know anyone who would like to apply for one of the awards, the application process is open until Monday 30 September. Crown Prosecution Service It was a pleasure to work with the Crown Prosecution Service to produce Easy Read versions of their Victims’ Guides which they launched this month.  This important project should help to ensure that the criminal justice process is as accessible as possible and victims of crime get the support they need. The CPS have run a social media campaign to promote the Easy Read guides. It’s great when organisations produce Easy Read versions of their information; and it’s even better when those organisations promote the Easy Read materials so that more people can access them! You can find out more and see the Easy Read guides on the CPS website here: https://www.cps.gov.uk/information-and-support-victims-witnesses/easy-read Extra services we provide Did you know about the extra services we can provide as part of our Easy Read service? We can… Apply web-accessible functions to your document so it is fully compliant with web accessibility standards. Have your document checked by end users. This means we send your document to a focus group at Mencap Liverpool and Sefton who review it with experts with lived experience. This can provide invaluable feedback from end users about your document. Apply print production - this means we provide a high-resolution quality document with print bleed marks for professional printing. Provide interactive PDFs - we can apply interactivity to your document if you require the end user to fill in a form on a device, such as for surveys or questionnaires. Create your document in different languages - we work with a translation company to create Easy Read in any language you require. Easy Read training Are you a small-scale producer of Easy Read or someone who makes ad hoc Easy Read documents? We would like to hear about any training needs you may have to improve the Easy Reads you create. What kinds of training would you benefit from? We would love to hear from you! Please email us your comments about training to projects@easy-read-online.co.uk One Big Walk challenge The One Big Walk challenge is an awareness-raising campaign set up by Mencap to let people know that there are 1.5 million people in the UK who have a learning disability. The challenge is to walk every day of September, with different goals, like 1.5 miles a day up to 150 miles over the course of September! Some of our team are participating in the challenge and they are raising money for Mencap Liverpool and Sefton. If you are able, we would greatly appreciate any donations. You can donate through Just Giving here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/easy-read-online-one-big-walk Thank you That’s all from us for this month. Thank you to all of the clients we have worked with. It’s been a pleasure to support your work in creating accessible information. As ever, if you need to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form. Best wishes, The Easy Read Online team

Hello from the Easy Read Online team. We hope you’re having a great summer so far! Here are some of the things we’ve been up to this month. Spotlight Projects The recent General Election has affected some of our regular UK work over the past months. However, we have been busy supporting some of our international clients with their Easy Read projects. United Nations This month we’ve worked on an Easy Read version of a report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples . We also produced an Easy Read booklet about Beijing +30  - an international meeting reflecting on what has been done to improve life for women around the world since UN Women’s plans were outlined 30 years ago. We’re currently working on another United Nations document about the involvement of disabled people in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . AI We have started to take a closer look into the world of generative AI tools to explore how they might assist us in our work. You can read our recent blog post to find out more: www.easy-read-online.co.uk/post/exploring-the-future-easy-read-online-and-ai I Need Easy Read Pledge The I Need Easy Read campaign is a collaborative venture with Mencap Liverpool and Sefton that aims to raise awareness amongst people with learning disabilities about their legal right to accessible information. In the build-up to the recent General Election we contacted all of the electoral candidates and asked them to sign our pledge to support the campaign. Over 350 candidates pledged their support and a number of those were elected as MPs, so we will be asking them to continue their support in parliament. You can find out more on the campaign website: www.ineedeasyread.org/pledge Consultation Engagement It’s important that everyone can have a say on issues that affect them. We work on lots of public consultations and produce Easy Read versions of consultation surveys that enable more people to take part. Generally, we’ve found that Easy Read surveys capture around 10% of the total engagement in consultations. This demonstrates the number of people who are excluded when services fail to provide accessible consultation materials. We were delighted to learn that a recent Easy Read survey we produced for Cheshire West & Chester Council captured around 65% of the total engagement! Another recent Easy Read consultation survey we produced for Essex County Council received over 1600 responses! If your organisation needs support with Easy Read consultation materials, or you use a service that is running a consultation that is not accessible, we’d be happy to help. Please visit our website  for more information. Thank You That’s all from us for this month. Thank you to all of the clients we have worked with. It’s been a pleasure to support your work in creating accessible information. As ever, if you need to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form: Best wishes, The Easy Read Online team.

At Easy Read Online, we're always thinking about how to improve our services, to better support our clients with making their information more accessible. In the face of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom, we want to take a closer look into the world of generative AI tools to explore how they might assist us in our work. Why AI? We know that there are fast-growing AI developments related to some aspects of our Easy Read service, like text & image generation. We’re interested to learn more about how AI tools might help us to streamline our processes so that we can: Improve efficiency. Reduce cost & turnaround times for our clients. Increase our capacity to deliver more Easy Read documents. Our Commitment to Quality and End-Users While we look into the potential of AI, our core focus remains unchanged: the quality of our Easy Read documents and the value they provide to end-users. We understand the importance of ensuring that our documents are accessible, accurate, ethical and truly beneficial to those who rely on them. Human input is key in upholding these standards and our expert team will always be integral in our Easy Read production and quality assurance. Involving People with Learning Disabilities An essential part of our service value is involving people with learning disabilities to check the quality of our work. Their input ensures that our Easy Read documents are truly accessible and meet the needs of the people who use them. Even as we explore AI, we'll continue to prioritise end-user involvement to maintain the integrity of our service. Data Security We understand the importance of safeguarding information. Security and privacy will be key considerations when we look into the potential of any AI tools, to ensure that data remains secure. Moving Forward Together We're excited about exploring the possibilities for Easy Read Online and AI. We'll be open and transparent with our clients if we ever begin to utilise AI tools in our work. Whatever the future brings, we’re confident that we can continue to support our clients to deliver outstanding Easy Read documents that make a meaningful difference in the lives of people who use them. Watch out for more updates on our journey with AI!

Hello from the Easy Read Online Team! It has been a busy month for us here at Easy Read Online! I Need Easy Read Everyone should have access to clear information that they can understand about the general election. That’s why we created a free document that explains how to find easy read resources. Check it out here: As part of our I need Easy Read campaign, we sent a pledge to over 3,000 candidates running to be MP. We asked them to ensure businesses and organisations provide easy read information and to make sure people in their constituency know what easy read is and how they can ask for it. We are thrilled that over 100 candidates have signed our pledge so far! You can see our pledge here: Did your MP sign our pledge? If not, we would love your help! Please email your MPs to ask for their support! Learning Disability Week Some of our colleagues visited Mencap Liverpool and Sefton, to have a catch-up about the I Need Easy Read Campaign, during Learning Disability Week. This year’s theme: “Do you see me?” Is all about making sure people with learning disabilities feel seen, heard and valued. This fits perfectly with the I Need Easy Read Campaign! We had a lively discussion about how important it is for politicians to make information accessible to everyone! We are all thrilled that the campaign has reached so many people, and long may this continue! Free Content In addition to our free document about the general election, we asked those who subscribe to our newsletter what topics they would benefit from having easy read information written about. They asked for a document about Understanding Death, which you can read here: International Easy Read Community of Practice Some of our team took part in the first-ever ‘International Easy Read Community of Practice’ meeting in June. The group was set up by an Australian Easy Read provider, The Easy Read Toolbox , and the meeting was coordinated by Disability Equality Scotland . The aim of the group is to discuss best practices and to look at establishing some universal Easy Read standards. We’re excited to learn from Easy Read comrades around the world and to share our own experiences. That’s all from us this month! As always, thank you to all of the clients we have worked with. It’s been a pleasure to support you in creating accessible information. If you need to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form:

It is important for people with learning disabilities to take part in all aspects of society, and to have their voices heard. We want to encourage people with learning disabilities to be interested in politics, and especially to vote in the upcoming General Election, which will be held on 4th July. We have been scouring the internet to find resources about elections in Easy Read, and here is some of what we’ve found. We’ve created a free resource about elections, with a summary of the links in this blog. You can find it on our website here. My Vote My Voice The My Vote My Voice campaign is on a mission to encourage people with learning disabilities and autistic people to vote in the 2024 General Election. Because your voice matters. They have produced an online Easy Read quick guide to voting, with information about why and how to vote. They also have Easy Read information about how politics works. You can fill out a short form on their website to get a free badge, to say that you’ve registered to vote. My Vote My Voice say: ‘It’s really important that everyone who can vote, does vote. This is the best way for most people to have a say in the way the country is run.’ They also have pages for carers or support workers, organisations, and elected representatives, with resources to inspire someone with a learning disability and/or autism to use their legal right to vote. Mencap Mencap have a page about elections, with information about how to get more involved in politics. They have joined with My Voice My Vote and worked with them on their Easy Read information. The Government There is also Easy Read information on the Government website about how to register to vote, and different ways to vote: And about the voter registration certificate, which you need if you do not have any photo ID. And a guide they wrote with Mencap, about voting and registering to vote. The Electoral Commission The Electoral Commission have guides on how to register to vote in England, Scotland and Wales: The Electoral Commission have also written a report called Elections for everyone, about registering to vote and voting from the view of someone with a disability. You can read the report on their website: What you can do You can sign the I Need Easy Read petition, asking people to support Easy Read in the UK. Petition - http://change.org/i-need-easy-read And you can ask the candidates in your constituency to sign the pledge to support Easy Read, and display their support on social media. You can direct them to this link to pledge: https://www.ineedeasyread.org/pledge You could also ask the election candidates in your constituency for campaign materials in Easy Read!

Hello from the Easy Read Online team and welcome to this month’s update! I Need Easy Read campaign launched! We were really pleased to support the I Need Easy Read campaign launch at the start of the month at Mencap Cottage House in Crosby. We have been working on this campaign with members of Mencap Liverpool for the past year and it was brilliant to see the launch go so well. You can find out more on the campaign website here: You can keep up to date with the campaign by following the social media channels: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ineedeasyread Twitter: https://twitter.com/ineedeasyread Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ineedeasyread Easy Read and Digital Accessibility We recently published a blog about digital accessibility and how organisations can ensure their digital publications can be read by everyone. It’s important that online documents fully adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) so they can be read by screen readers, which support people with visual impairments. This is a service we offer as part of creating your Easy Read document. You can find out more on the blog page of our website here: Feedback on our Easy Reads from people with learning disabilities An important part of our process of creating Easy Read information is receiving feedback from end users to check how useful (and easy!) the texts really are. We have a cross-section of our documents checked regularly to ensure we are maintaining a high standard of Easy Read that benefits the end user. Our clients can request this service specifically for their document if they would like it to be checked by a group of people with learning disabilities. Last week three of our staff members observed a checking session with a user group, which they found very useful. Petition - Tell more people about Easy Read! As we draw closer to the next general election, the I Need Easy Read campaign has set up a petition asking the new government to ensure that Easy Read is more widely promoted and that organisations follow their legal duty to provide information in accessible formats. Please support the campaign and sign the petition here! Thank you That’s all from us for this month. Thank you to all of the clients we have worked with. It’s been a pleasure to support your work in creating accessible information. As ever, if you need to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form: Best wishes, The Easy Read Online team.

Our digital landscape evolves at a rapid pace, with the emergence of new technologies every day - and with this growth, the accessibility of all things digital is a pressing concern. Without proper attention, organisations run the risk of creating a space that can actively alienates people with disabilities, but this time online. Digital accessibility is about breaking down barriers. Digital accessibility is about ensuring people of all abilities can harness the power of the internet. Digital accessibility is about empowering people of all abilities to access online information and services. If organisations are aiming to improve the accessibility of their online content, a fundamental start is adhering to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), these guidelines offer a framework for creating accessible online content. But digital accessibility is more than just rule compliance. It is about understanding the daily challenges faced by people with disabilities and considering their needs from the outset. We must practice what we preach! This is how we at Easy Read Online strive to be digitally accessible: Giving our clients the option of a WCAG 2.2 compliant version of their commissioned Easy Read document. Offering interactive versions of forms and surveys that can be filled in online. Championing accessible online content by incorporating descriptive links, form accessibility, reduced mouse interaction, responsive design and clear fonts into our website. Including alt text on any images that are used on our website and accompany our social media posts. Regularly reviewing, maintaining and improving the accessibility of our online content. To find out more about digital accessibility, you can read about and take part in Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD): https://accessibility.day/

Hello from the Easy Read Online team! Welcome to this month’s endeavours. Easy Read Highlight Projects Havens Hospices This month we have teamed up with Havens Hospices to make a meaningful difference. Together, we have been translating important information about Havens Hospice services into Easy Read. By providing accessible information, we're empowering individuals with learning disabilities to engage in making vital decisions about their hospice care and support. This is especially important when it comes to end-of-life care decisions. We are committed to continuing our partnership with Havens Hospices well into the future. Here's to making a positive impact, one step at a time! Acts of Resistance Exhibition Do you enjoy the art of photography? South London Gallery is holding the fantastic Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminism and the Art of Protest exhibition from 8th March to 9th June. We worked with South London Gallery to create an Easy Read version of their exhibition guide! Check out our work here: https://www.southlondongallery.org/exhibitions/acts-of-resistance/ Free content! Asking for Easy Read As part of our I Need Easy Read campaign, we created an Easy Read document about… Easy Read! Lots of people still do not know what Easy Read is and how it could benefit their lives. The people who do know about it often do not know how to ask for it! Find out about Easy Read by reading our new free document: https://www.ineedeasyread.org/free-easy-read Catch next month’s newsletter to get all the juicy details of our campaign launch! Wrap Up That’s all from us this month - a big thanks to all the clients we have worked with, we have thoroughly enjoyed supporting you to create accessible information. If you would like to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form: Best wishes, The Easy Read Online team.

Happy Easter from the Easy Read Online team! Welcome to this month’s update. March’s Highlight Easy Read Projects We have been working on some incredibly important criminal justice documents this month for: All of the documents feature crucial information, and people with learning disabilities must also be afforded the opportunity to read, understand and interact with this information. It would be great to see more government departments offering Easy Read versions of their information! A Naidex Day Out On the 21st the whole Easy Read Online team went to this year's Naidex exhibition at the NEC Birmingham! The day was filled with inspirational talks, innovative products and fun activities. We came away from the exhibition even more committed to, and enthusiastic about, accessibility. A personal favourite amongst our team members was a very special LIVE recording of the fantastic People First Podcast - featuring special guest Brooke Millhouse. Are you an arts organisation? Are you part of an arts organisation that is based in the West Midlands? The West Midlands Combined Authority is offering grants to arts organisations that are currently working on an arts project with a group in another country. We have created some handy Easy Read information about these grants, which you can find on their website! Wrap Up That’s all from us this month - a big thanks to all the clients we have worked with, we have thoroughly enjoyed supporting you to create accessible information. If you would like to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form: Best wishes, The Easy Read Online team.

Hello from the Easy Read Online team and welcome to this month’s update. February’s highlight projects Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights We were pleased to work with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on a piece of work around sharing good practices in supporting disabled people to participate in their communities. We hope that this valuable piece of work can support people to become more involved with their communities around the world. Queen’s Nursing Institute We have also been supporting the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) to produce an Easy Read version of their Community Learning Disability Nursing Standards. The Standards are for nurses who give local community and home care to people with a learning disability. The Easy Read version of the Standards will help people with a learning disability to understand the level of care they can expect to receive. The National Lottery We have worked with the National Lottery on various projects and most recently we’re producing an Easy Read version of their Climate Action Fund application pack. The Easy Read pack will make the application process more accessible to people around the UK who want to apply for funding towards their projects that aim to tackle climate change. Free content! Pharmacy First explainer Last week we published an Easy Read explainer about the government’s new scheme, Pharmacy First. This is a way for people to get treatment for some illnesses at the pharmacy without having to get a prescription from the GP. You can see the Easy Read here - feel free to share! Welcome to the newest member of our team A warm welcome to Victoria who joined the team this month as a technical writer. She has quickly picked up the Easy Read ropes and recently completed her first document for the Health Research Authority. Welcome to the team Victoria! Our team has grown quickly over the last 6 months and we’re now eleven strong, with another new member set to join the ranks later in March! You can read more about the full team on our website: I Need Easy Read campaign Earlier this month we met with the I Need Easy Read campaign group at Mencap Liverpool and Sefton to talk about launching the campaign and raising its profile. Watch this space! Our campaign website is now live and you can have a look here: You can keep up to date with the campaign by following the social media channels: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ineedeasyread Twitter: https://twitter.com/ineedeasyread Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ineedeasyread Thank you That’s all from us for this month. Thank you to all of the clients we have worked with, it’s been a pleasure to support your work in creating accessible information. As ever, if you need to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form: Best wishes The Easy Read Online team

You can see Easy Read information about the Learning Disability Register from Mencap here: The Learning Disability Register is a list of people who have learning disabilities. It is kept locally, by individual GP practices. The NHS requires every GP practice to keep a list of their patients who have a learning disability - and this is the Learning Disability Register. People with learning disabilities are more likely to face health inequalities, including having poorer physical and mental health than people without a learning disability. A lack of access to the right knowledge, care and support leads to people with a learning disability generally living shorter lives than the average population and having inadequate support from health and care services. One way that the NHS tries to tackle this is by offering an annual health check to everyone over the age of 14 who is on the Learning Disability Register. This helps to find out any problems that someone might have early on, so they can be treated. It also provides a chance for the doctor to understand any adjustments that the patient might need. A health action plan can be requested at an annual health check, which will advise about how someone can live more healthily. It can also include ways that the doctor’s surgery will support someone to be fully involved in their healthcare. The GP surgery is required to make reasonable adjustments to support people on the Learning Disability Register. This might be a quieter place to wait for an appointment at the surgery, or having appointments at certain times of day. Getting health information in Easy Read is another reasonable adjustment that can be requested. Another benefit of being on the Learning Disability Register is that you will be contacted for any vaccinations that you might need, like getting the free flu or Covid-19 jabs. How to join the Learning Disability Register If you or someone you know would like to join the Learning Disability Register, you should first talk to your doctor’s surgery. You may need to make an appointment to talk about your needs before you join the Learning Disability Register. Mencap have produced an Easy Read guide on how to join the Learning Disability Register: You could also use this Easy Read letter to tell your doctor’s surgery what support you need: Sources: Mencap; https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/health/learning-disability-register NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/learning-disabilities/annual-health-checks/ Learning Disability Matters: https://learningdisabilitymatters.co.uk/annual-health-checks-gp-learning-disability-registers/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/improving-identification-of-people-with-a-learning-disability-guidance-for-general-practice.pdf https://www.unitedresponse.org.uk/resource/the-learning-disability-register-how-to-sign-up-and-why-you-should/

Hello from the Easy Read Online team! We hope you are well and getting ready for the festive break! Here’s the last update from us at Easy Read Online for 2023. Some highlight projects we have worked on this year Rail ticket office consultation In the summer, we were able to support the work of several rail companies as they consulted on changes to ticket offices in England. This included quickly turning around key consultation documents which enabled more people to fully engage with the consultation. We then supported Transport Focus with an Easy Read version of their report on the consultation and outcomes. You can read the report here: United Nations disability inclusion strategy progress report This strategy aims to make sure disabled people are fully included in the work of the UN and provide an example for member nations. We were delighted to support the UN’s work on this important strategy. You can see the Easy Read report here: NHS England We have supported NHS England with many documents this year relating to their merger, and helping members of their staff to navigate the changes. This is part of our ongoing contract with NHS England. Feedback from clients UN Disability Inclusion Strategy Report We are always pleased to hear from clients about how we have supported them in creating accessible information (And how we could do better!). We were really pleased to hear this positive feedback from officers at Bristol City Council: Feedback on our work from people with learning disabilities A group of people with learning disabilities at Mencap Liverpool and Sefton regularly review examples of our work to check that the documents are clear and accessible to them. This is a key part of creating high-quality Easy Read documents. We also meet with the group regularly to discuss accessible information and best practices. Here is some of the feedback we’ve received this year: “Really clear and informative document that enabled the group to have a good discussion around health inequalities.” “Everyone found the document interesting and really liked how the original quotes were kept in as it made it feel more authentic and that they were getting a real point of view, the trickier words in bold with explanations underneath were very helpful too. Overall, a really good clear document!” “Overall - Simple. clear pictures that stand out, bullet points used well.” “We liked the use of bold writing and not too much text in one place.” “There was a lot of information in this document but it was broken down well and made manageable for everyone to understand.” We have also made some changes to our documents based on their feedback over the year, including: Adding text captions to icons to make them clearer in images. Adding a page at the start of documents which explains what Easy Read is and the features they will encounter. A big thank you to the coordinators and members at Mencap Liverpool and Sefton for their continued help! Welcome to the newest member of our team A warm welcome to Presley who recently joined the team as our web-accessibility support. He has been helping to prepare and remediate PDFs to make them accessible and compliant with the WCAG 2.1 web accessibility standard. Office shut down A quick reminder that our office will be closed for the festive period from 5pm on Wednesday 20th December until 9am on Wednesday 3rd January. Thank you That’s all from us for this year. Thank you to all of the clients we have worked with, it’s been a pleasure to support your work in creating accessible information. We hope you have a restful break and wish you the best for 2024! As ever, if you need to request a quote for information in Easy Read, you can use our online form: Best wishes The Easy Read Online team