Cookie Policy

Heathlands School sometimes has to place a small file of information (known as a cookie) on your computer, mobile phone or other device.

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve it.

Cookies are not designed to collect personal data from your computer. The only data in a cookie is the data put into it by the website’s server.

What are Cookies?

Cookies are a small file of letters and numbers which are stored on a user’s computer. They are designed to hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website to the next.

Cookies are used to improve services for you through:

• Strictly necessary – these are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into areas of our website or make use of online booking forms;
• Functionality/session – recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you don’t need to do it for every page requested;
• Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. – these cookies allow us to measure how many people are visiting our website and using services, to see how visitors move around the website and when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works for example, by making it easier to use, by ensuring that users find what they are looking for and that there is enough capacity to ensure that they are fast. They enable the web server to identify and track web browser information. Such information is collected however this is aggregate data, and is anonymous and therefore, is not linked to information that identifies any individual; and
• Third-party cookies – some third-party software utilises its own cookies over which we have little or no control. You can find out about their cookies by visiting their websites.

Types of Cookies

The website uses both “session” cookies and “persistent” cookies. We use session cookies to keep track of you whilst you navigate the website. We use persistent cookies to enable our website to recognise you when you visit and login to view secure content.

Session cookies are used to establish the connections between the client and the server. They will be deleted from your computer when you close the browser.

Persistent cookies will remain stored on your computer until deleted, or until they reach a specific expiry date.

Except for essential cookies (that are required for the website to remember preferences you have selected). All cookies will expire after 30 days.

How to control Cookies

Browsers will generally by default accept cookies, but most will allow you to change the browser settings to reject some or all cookies.  The ‘Help’ function within your browser should tell you how to do this. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to manage your cookies on a wide variety of browsers. However, if you choose not to receive the Website cookies, your experience with our Website may well not be as quick or responsive as if you do receive cookies, and you may not be able to access all or parts of our site or some parts of the Website may not work at all.

You can manage your cookie consent at any time by accessing your browser settings.

If you wish to view your cookie code, click on a cookie to open it. You will see a short string of text and numbers. The numbers are your identification card, which can only be seen by the server that gave you the cookie. For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone you will need to refer to your handset manual.

To opt-out of third-parties collecting data regarding your interaction on our website, please refer to their websites for further information.

For more details on our use of cookies and why we use them please contact the Data Protection Officer on admin@heathlands.herts.sch.uk

Cookies Used

Targeting Cookies

Google Analytics

Google Analytics gathers information allowing us to understand interactions with our websites and ultimately refine that experience to better serve you.

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Google Maps

Most Google users will have a preferences cookie called ‘NID’ in their browsers. A browser sends this cookie with requests to Google’s sites. The NID cookie contains a unique ID Google uses to remember your preferences and other information.

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