What is a cookie?

Most websites you visit will use cookies in order to improve your user experience by enabling that website to ‘remember’ you, either for the duration of your visit or for repeat visits.

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.

What's 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.

How can I control my cookies?

You can use your web browser to:

• delete all cookies
• block all cookies
• allow all cookies
• block third-party cookies
• clear all cookies when you close the browser
• open a 'private browsing' session
• install add-ons and plug-ins to extend browser functionality.
  

Where do I find information about controlling cookies through my browser?

Internet Explorer - Link to Microsoft help – How to delete cookie files in Internet Explorer
Chrome - Link to Chrome help – Manage cookies
Firefox - Link to Firefox help – Give certain websites the ability to store passwords, set cookies and more
Apple browsers including Safari Support for cookies

Education Scotland takes your privacy seriously and recognises that your privacy is important to you. Education Scotland is registered with the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998 and is committed to respecting online privacy.

We will apply appropriate protection and management of any personally identifiable information you share with us. Any personal information you do provide will be held and processed by Education Scotland in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. We will not pass on your details to any third party unless you give us permission to do so.

The following privacy statement covers the National Improvement Hub at www.education.gov.scot/improvement. It does not cover other websites to which links are provided from this website.

The Data Protection Act 1998 protects the rights of individuals by making sure that any organisation that collects or holds information about living people does so in a way that is fair to those people.

Education Scotland takes your privacy seriously and is committed to responsible handling of personal information in accordance with our Information Charter, which is as follows.
When we ask for personal information we promise:

• to make sure you know why we need it.
• to ask only for what we need, and not to collect too much or irrelevant information.
• to protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn't.
• to let you know if we share it with other organisations to give you better public services - and if you can say no.
• to make sure we don't keep it longer than necessary.
• not to make your personal information available for commercial use without your permission.