Cookies
Most websites use cookies in order to improve your user experience by enabling that website to ‘remember’ you, either for the duration of your visit (using a ‘session cookie’) or for repeat visits (using a ‘persistent cookie’). Many websites simply will not work without cookies being enabled.
Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, storing your preferences, and generally improving your experience of a website. Cookies make the interaction between you and the website faster and easier. If a website doesn’t use cookies, it will think you are a new visitor every time you move to a new page on the site – for example, when you enter your login details and move to another page it won’t recognise you and it won’t be able to keep you logged in.
Some websites will also use cookies to enable them to target their advertising or marketing messages based for example, on your location and/or browsing habits. GSSN do not use cookies in this way
Cookies may be set by the website you are visiting (‘first party cookies’) or they may be set by other websites who run content on the page you are viewing (‘third party cookies’).
What is in a cookie?
A cookie is a simple text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device by a website’s server and only that server will be able to retrieve or read the contents of that cookie. Each cookie is unique to your web browser. It will contain some anonymous information such as a unique identifier and the site name and some digits and numbers. It allows a website to remember things like your preferences or what’s in your shopping basket.
What to do if you don’t want cookies to be set
Some people find the idea of a website storing information on their computer or mobile device a bit intrusive, particularly when this information is stored and used by a third party without them knowing. Although this is generally quite harmless you may not, for example, want to see advertising that has been targeted to your interests. If you prefer, it is possible to block some or all cookies, or even to delete cookies that have already been set; but you need to be aware that you might lose some functions of that website.
How can I control cookies?
Web browser cookies:
If you don’t want to receive cookies, you can modify your browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set.
If you wish to restrict or block web browser cookies which are set on your device then you can do this through your browser settings; the Help function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.
How we use cookies
Strictly necessary
The website sets a session cookie when you arrive, and another one if you log into the website. These cookies are necessary for the correct operation of the website, particulary if you are a parent and log into the parent area to make a parents evening appointment.
To Provide Functionality
If you accept the cookie notice, then a' cookie acceptance' cookie is set to remember not to display the message the next time you log in.
To improve performance
We use Google analytics on the site to record how many people visit us, how they arrive at our site and what pages they visit while they are here. We use this information to develop the website to suit our visitors needs and interests and improve their experience. We set cookies for this called _ga, _gat
Embedded content
Where we provide embedded content, eg links to YouTube , more cookies may be presented. We do not control the distribution of these cookies and you should check their respective websites for more information about them.