diff --git a/CHANGELOG.txt b/CHANGELOG.txt
index b7032cadf..cad8279c7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.txt
+++ b/CHANGELOG.txt
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ Changelog
  * Fix: Remove tab order customisations in CMS admin (Jordan Bauer)
  * Fix: Add labels to permission checkboxes for screen reader users (Helen Chapman, Katie Locke)
  * Fix: Page.copy() no longer copies child objects when the accesssor name is included in `exclude_fields_in_copy` (Karl Hobley)
+ * Fix: Move focus to the pages explorer menu when open (Helen Chapman)
 
 
 2.5.1 (07.05.2019)
diff --git a/client/src/components/Button/Button.js b/client/src/components/Button/Button.js
index 932755d07..ec9942448 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Button/Button.js
+++ b/client/src/components/Button/Button.js
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ const Button = ({
   target,
   preventDefault,
   onClick,
+  dialogTrigger,
 }) => {
   const hasText = children !== null;
   const iconName = isLoading ? 'spinner' : icon;
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ const Button = ({
       rel={target === '_blank' ? 'noopener noreferrer' : null}
       href={href}
       target={target}
+      aria-haspopup={dialogTrigger ? 'dialog' : null}
     >
       {hasText ? children : accessibleElt}
     </a>
@@ -73,6 +75,7 @@ Button.propTypes = {
   onClick: PropTypes.func,
   isLoading: PropTypes.bool,
   preventDefault: PropTypes.bool,
+  dialogTrigger: PropTypes.bool,
 };
 
 Button.defaultProps = {
@@ -85,6 +88,7 @@ Button.defaultProps = {
   onClick: null,
   isLoading: false,
   preventDefault: true,
+  dialogTrigger: false,
 };
 
 export default Button;
diff --git a/client/src/components/Button/Button.test.js b/client/src/components/Button/Button.test.js
index f82bf2fe6..611b2d2ab 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Button/Button.test.js
+++ b/client/src/components/Button/Button.test.js
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ describe('Button', () => {
     expect(shallow(<Button accessibleLabel="I am here in the shadows" />)).toMatchSnapshot();
   });
 
+  it('#dialogTrigger', () => {
+    expect(shallow(<Button dialogTrigger />)).toMatchSnapshot();
+  });
+
   it('#icon', () => {
     expect(shallow(<Button icon="test-icon" />)).toMatchSnapshot();
   });
diff --git a/client/src/components/Button/__snapshots__/Button.test.js.snap b/client/src/components/Button/__snapshots__/Button.test.js.snap
index 0260a1098..de3b1ecbf 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Button/__snapshots__/Button.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/components/Button/__snapshots__/Button.test.js.snap
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 exports[`Button #accessibleLabel 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" "
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ exports[`Button #accessibleLabel 1`] = `
 
 exports[`Button #children 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" "
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
@@ -28,8 +30,20 @@ exports[`Button #children 1`] = `
 </a>
 `;
 
+exports[`Button #dialogTrigger 1`] = `
+<a
+  aria-haspopup="dialog"
+  className=" "
+  href="#"
+  onClick={[Function]}
+  rel={null}
+  target={null}
+/>
+`;
+
 exports[`Button #icon 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" icon icon-test-icon"
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
@@ -40,6 +54,7 @@ exports[`Button #icon 1`] = `
 
 exports[`Button #icon changes with #isLoading 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" icon icon-spinner"
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
@@ -50,6 +65,7 @@ exports[`Button #icon changes with #isLoading 1`] = `
 
 exports[`Button #multiple icons 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" icon icon-test-icon icon-secondary-icon"
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
@@ -60,6 +76,7 @@ exports[`Button #multiple icons 1`] = `
 
 exports[`Button #target 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" "
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
@@ -70,6 +87,7 @@ exports[`Button #target 1`] = `
 
 exports[`Button basic 1`] = `
 <a
+  aria-haspopup={null}
   className=" "
   href="#"
   onClick={[Function]}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerPanel.js b/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerPanel.js
index 89cdb90c7..af2d7da12 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerPanel.js
+++ b/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerPanel.js
@@ -137,18 +137,19 @@ class ExplorerPanel extends React.Component {
 
     return (
       <FocusTrap
-        tag="nav"
+        tag="div"
+        role="dialog"
         className="explorer"
         paused={paused || !page || page.isFetching}
         focusTrapOptions={{
-          initialFocus: '.c-explorer__close',
+          initialFocus: '.c-explorer__header',
           onDeactivate: onClose,
         }}
       >
         <Button className="c-explorer__close u-hidden" onClick={onClose}>
           {STRINGS.CLOSE_EXPLORER}
         </Button>
-        <Transition name={transition} className="c-explorer">
+        <Transition name={transition} className="c-explorer" component="nav" label={STRINGS.PAGE_EXPLORER}>
           <div key={path.length} className="c-transition-group">
             <ExplorerHeader
               depth={path.length}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerToggle.js b/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerToggle.js
index 919cf0250..72f11d65d 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerToggle.js
+++ b/client/src/components/Explorer/ExplorerToggle.js
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ const ExplorerToggle = ({ children, onToggle }) => (
   <Button
     className="submenu-trigger"
     icon="folder-open-inverse"
+    dialogTrigger={true}
     onClick={onToggle}
   >
     {children}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerHeader.test.js.snap b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerHeader.test.js.snap
index 982f103c5..9e5e4d893 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerHeader.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerHeader.test.js.snap
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerHeader #depth at root 1`] = `
 <Button
   accessibleLabel={null}
   className="c-explorer__header"
+  dialogTrigger={false}
   href="/admin/pages/"
   icon=""
   isLoading={false}
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerHeader #page 1`] = `
 <Button
   accessibleLabel={null}
   className="c-explorer__header"
+  dialogTrigger={false}
   href="/admin/pages/a/"
   icon=""
   isLoading={false}
@@ -56,6 +58,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerHeader basic 1`] = `
 <Button
   accessibleLabel={null}
   className="c-explorer__header"
+  dialogTrigger={false}
   href="/admin/pages/"
   icon=""
   isLoading={false}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerItem.test.js.snap b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerItem.test.js.snap
index 793ded523..dd5a9e643 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerItem.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerItem.test.js.snap
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem children 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__link"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem children 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action c-explorer__item__action--small"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/edit/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -44,6 +46,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem children 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -67,6 +70,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem renders 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__link"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -83,6 +87,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem renders 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action c-explorer__item__action--small"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/edit/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -106,6 +111,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem should show a publication status if not live 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__link"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -140,6 +146,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem should show a publication status if not live 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action c-explorer__item__action--small"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/edit/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -156,6 +163,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem should show a publication status if not live 1`] = `
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -179,6 +187,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem should show a publication status with unpublished changes
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__link"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -213,6 +222,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem should show a publication status with unpublished changes
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action c-explorer__item__action--small"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/edit/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -229,6 +239,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerItem should show a publication status with unpublished changes
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__item__action"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="/admin/pages/5/"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerPanel.test.js.snap b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerPanel.test.js.snap
index 82e337245..0be336143 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerPanel.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerPanel.test.js.snap
@@ -7,16 +7,18 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering #isError 1`] = `
   className="explorer"
   focusTrapOptions={
     Object {
-      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__close",
+      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__header",
       "onDeactivate": [MockFunction],
     }
   }
   paused={false}
-  tag="nav"
+  role="dialog"
+  tag="div"
 >
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__close u-hidden"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="#"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -28,8 +30,9 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering #isError 1`] = `
   </Button>
   <Transition
     className="c-explorer"
-    component="div"
+    component="nav"
     duration={210}
+    label="Page explorer"
     name="push"
   >
     <div
@@ -83,16 +86,18 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering #isFetching 1`] = `
   className="explorer"
   focusTrapOptions={
     Object {
-      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__close",
+      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__header",
       "onDeactivate": [MockFunction],
     }
   }
   paused={true}
-  tag="nav"
+  role="dialog"
+  tag="div"
 >
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__close u-hidden"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="#"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -104,8 +109,9 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering #isFetching 1`] = `
   </Button>
   <Transition
     className="c-explorer"
-    component="div"
+    component="nav"
     duration={210}
+    label="Page explorer"
     name="push"
   >
     <div
@@ -149,16 +155,18 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering #items 1`] = `
   className="explorer"
   focusTrapOptions={
     Object {
-      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__close",
+      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__header",
       "onDeactivate": [MockFunction],
     }
   }
   paused={false}
-  tag="nav"
+  role="dialog"
+  tag="div"
 >
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__close u-hidden"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="#"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -170,8 +178,9 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering #items 1`] = `
   </Button>
   <Transition
     className="c-explorer"
-    component="div"
+    component="nav"
     duration={210}
+    label="Page explorer"
     name="push"
   >
     <div
@@ -240,16 +249,18 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering no children 1`] = `
   className="explorer"
   focusTrapOptions={
     Object {
-      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__close",
+      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__header",
       "onDeactivate": [MockFunction],
     }
   }
   paused={false}
-  tag="nav"
+  role="dialog"
+  tag="div"
 >
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__close u-hidden"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="#"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -261,8 +272,9 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering no children 1`] = `
   </Button>
   <Transition
     className="c-explorer"
-    component="div"
+    component="nav"
     duration={210}
+    label="Page explorer"
     name="push"
   >
     <div
@@ -300,16 +312,18 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering renders 1`] = `
   className="explorer"
   focusTrapOptions={
     Object {
-      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__close",
+      "initialFocus": ".c-explorer__header",
       "onDeactivate": [MockFunction],
     }
   }
   paused={false}
-  tag="nav"
+  role="dialog"
+  tag="div"
 >
   <Button
     accessibleLabel={null}
     className="c-explorer__close u-hidden"
+    dialogTrigger={false}
     href="#"
     icon=""
     isLoading={false}
@@ -321,8 +335,9 @@ exports[`ExplorerPanel general rendering renders 1`] = `
   </Button>
   <Transition
     className="c-explorer"
-    component="div"
+    component="nav"
     duration={210}
+    label="Page explorer"
     name="push"
   >
     <div
diff --git a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerToggle.test.js.snap b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerToggle.test.js.snap
index 833d5f636..737b8b56f 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerToggle.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/components/Explorer/__snapshots__/ExplorerToggle.test.js.snap
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ exports[`ExplorerToggle basic 1`] = `
 <Button
   accessibleLabel={null}
   className="submenu-trigger"
+  dialogTrigger={true}
   href="#"
   icon="folder-open-inverse"
   isLoading={false}
diff --git a/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.js b/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.js
index 3107e12a0..613872f47 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.js
+++ b/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.js
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const Transition = ({
   className,
   duration,
   children,
+  label,
 }) => (
   <CSSTransitionGroup
     component={component}
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ const Transition = ({
     transitionLeaveTimeout={duration}
     transitionName={`c-transition-${name}`}
     className={className}
+    aria-label={label}
   >
     {children}
   </CSSTransitionGroup>
@@ -36,6 +38,7 @@ Transition.propTypes = {
   className: PropTypes.string,
   duration: PropTypes.number,
   children: PropTypes.node,
+  label: PropTypes.string,
 };
 
 Transition.defaultProps = {
@@ -43,6 +46,7 @@ Transition.defaultProps = {
   children: null,
   className: null,
   duration: TRANSITION_DURATION,
+  label: null,
 };
 
 export default Transition;
diff --git a/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.test.js b/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.test.js
index 71b49ecc1..ca433c39e 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.test.js
+++ b/client/src/components/Transition/Transition.test.js
@@ -11,4 +11,8 @@ describe('Transition', () => {
   it('basic', () => {
     expect(shallow(<Transition name={PUSH} />)).toMatchSnapshot();
   });
+
+  it('label', () => {
+    expect(shallow(<Transition name={PUSH} label="Page explorer" />)).toMatchSnapshot();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/client/src/components/Transition/__snapshots__/Transition.test.js.snap b/client/src/components/Transition/__snapshots__/Transition.test.js.snap
index ef8efcd53..c9ea792a9 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Transition/__snapshots__/Transition.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/components/Transition/__snapshots__/Transition.test.js.snap
@@ -2,6 +2,21 @@
 
 exports[`Transition basic 1`] = `
 <CSSTransitionGroup
+  aria-label={null}
+  className={null}
+  component="div"
+  transitionAppear={false}
+  transitionEnter={true}
+  transitionEnterTimeout={210}
+  transitionLeave={true}
+  transitionLeaveTimeout={210}
+  transitionName="c-transition-push"
+/>
+`;
+
+exports[`Transition label 1`] = `
+<CSSTransitionGroup
+  aria-label="Page explorer"
   className={null}
   component="div"
   transitionAppear={false}
diff --git a/client/tests/stubs.js b/client/tests/stubs.js
index 751bb101c..a7ad77276 100644
--- a/client/tests/stubs.js
+++ b/client/tests/stubs.js
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ global.wagtailConfig = {
     CLOSE: 'Close',
     EDIT_PAGE: 'Edit \'{title}\'',
     VIEW_CHILD_PAGES_OF_PAGE: 'View child pages of \'{title}\'',
+    PAGE_EXPLORER: 'Page explorer',
   },
 };
 
diff --git a/docs/releases/2.6.rst b/docs/releases/2.6.rst
index f8bf5dd70..d2fd8432f 100644
--- a/docs/releases/2.6.rst
+++ b/docs/releases/2.6.rst
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ This release also contains many big improvements for screen reader users:
 * Screen readers now treat page-level action dropdowns as navigation instead of menus (Helen Chapman)
 * Fixed occurrences of invalid HTML across the CMS admin (Thibaud Colas)
 * Add empty alt attributes to all images in the CMS admin (Andreas Bernacca)
+* Fixed focus not moving to the pages explorer menu when open (Helen Chapman)
 
 We’ve also had a look at how controls are labeled across the UI for screen reader users:
 
diff --git a/wagtail/admin/templates/wagtailadmin/admin_base.html b/wagtail/admin/templates/wagtailadmin/admin_base.html
index 52ac92485..439f4c52c 100644
--- a/wagtail/admin/templates/wagtailadmin/admin_base.html
+++ b/wagtail/admin/templates/wagtailadmin/admin_base.html
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@
                 CLOSE: "{% trans 'Close' %}",
                 EDIT_PAGE: "{% trans 'Edit \'{title}\'' %}",
                 VIEW_CHILD_PAGES_OF_PAGE: "{% trans 'View child pages of \'{title}\'' %}",
+                PAGE_EXPLORER: "{% trans 'Page explorer' %}",
 
                 MONTHS: [
                     "{% trans 'January' %}",