Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing good quality accessible communication services to our diverse customer base, which includes our tenants, residents, stakeholders and employees. We will take all necessary steps to ensure that where required, all forms of verbal and non-verbal communication are made available such as interpreting, translation, Braille, signing, audio, large print and transcription.

Interpreting and translation services are to be used in all instances where it is not possible to establish an effective two-way communication.

The use of free translation services will be used for all low level translations including written or face to face contact. However, this excludes anything that could be of a legal or complex nature where official translation services will be used.

 

Accessibility

The CKH website (www.crosskeyshomes.co.uk) is built with accessibility in mind. It provides a range of tools to aid accessibility, including ReachDeck to help anyone with mild visual impairments, dyslexia, low literacy and English as a second language. It also includes google translate which is available throughout our website as well as via our Live Chat platform.

We provide Easy Read guides as part of our suite of literature available to residents. Easy Read is a way of making information more accessible to people with learning disabilities. It is also a really good way of making information accessible to people who find it difficult to read and write, have memory problems, or are communicating in a second language.

We also provide Large Print for our printed letters to ensure these are accessible to residents who have sight problems. We provide this in 18 point font size as standard.

Where residents tell us they are struggling to access information or have a requirement for information in an alternative format we will always ask them for the format that works best for them.

 

Braille

We will provide Braille translations where residents are the sole tenant or both joint tenants require Braille translations. We will translate key tenancy related documentation into Braille if requested by a resident.

 

Interpreter service

We can provide translation services in person, by video call and over the phone. We will provide translations for any key tenancy related information if requested by the resident.

We recognise that it is inappropriate to ask residents if they have any friends or family outside of the household who can interpret, however, if the resident would like someone they know to interpret, we will accommodate that. 

We will never ask or allow children under the age of 16 to interpret conversations about a tenancy. 

If the resident is confident getting online, we will signpost them to self serve and find information on our website or contact us via live chat using our digital translation tools. 

 

Sign Language

We will arrange sign language interpretation for all face to face interactions where a resident has told us they are deaf. We will also ensure we do not call residents who are unable to use the phone and will instead communicate with our deaf residents through their preferred means of communication.

 

External service providers’ principles:

We take due diligence to ensure that all external service providers meet the necessary legal requirements by providing accurate information which is in accordance with the Equalities legislation listed within the Equality Act 2010.

We will ensure our service providers sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) when undertaking specific work which includes personal information to ensure we safeguard residents’ personal data at all times.

 

Further information:

Who is responsible for managing our Translations and Accessibility Policy?

The Communications and Marketing Manager reporting directly to the Director of Communications, Marketing and Customer Experience is responsible for the implementation of this Translation and Accessibility Policy.

 

Legislation and regulation

This policy is written in accordance with the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

·         Equality Act 2010

 

Information sharing

Cross Keys Homes has an information sharing agreement with key agencies and contractors to share information in relation to the delivery of our services. Information shared must be relevant and the Data Protection Procedure adhered to when handling data. You can find more information about how we manage your data in our Transparency and Privacy Policy.

 

Monitoring and review

The Translations and Accessibility Policy was written and approved in May 2022 and will be reviewed every three years – next review May 2025.