Cookie Policy
WHAT IS A COOKIE?
A cookie is a small text file that may be stored on your computer or mobile device that contains data related to a website you visit. It may allow a website “remember” your actions or preferences over a period of time, or it may contain data related to the function or delivery of the site. Cookies can be set by the owner of the website or in some cases by third party services the website owner allows to present other information, run content or provide other functionality such as analytics.
Further information on cookies can be found at; http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/basics/legal/cookies/index_en.htm
COOKIES USED ON DCSCORK.IE
Douglas Community School uses cookies when you visit our website, which is built on the Squarespace platform. We use Squarespace's proprietary analytics tools which allow us to measure and learn in aggregate how our website is being used, and to see for example, which the most popular pages are, or what % of our users access our website from a mobile device vs a desktop. This helps us make important design and functionality decisions and helps us ensure we provide relevant information in an easily accessible format. We also use a number of session cookies and a persistent cookie to record your acknowledgement of our cookie usage. For more information on Squarespace related cookies, please visit: https://www.squarespace.com/cookie-policy
ESSENTIAL AND NON-ESSENTIAL COOKIES
Cookies can be classified as either 'essential' or 'non-essential'.
Essential cookies: these are cookies that are either:
(a) used solely to carry out or facilitate the transmission of communications over a network; or
(b) strictly necessary to provide an online service (e.g. our website or a service on our website) which you have requested.
'Essential' cookies are automatically placed on your computer or device when you access our website or take certain actions on our website.
Non-essential cookies: these are any cookies that do not fall within the definition of essential cookies, such as cookies used to analyse your behaviour on a website ('analytical' cookies) or cookies used to display advertisements to you ('advertising' cookies). 'Non-essential' cookies and other technologies are only placed on your computer or device if you have consented to us doing so.
SESSION AND PERSISTENT COOKIES
Cookies can be classified as either 'session' or 'persistent', depending on how long they last after they are placed on your browser.
Session cookies: session cookies last for as long as you keep your browser open. They expire when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies: persistent cookies expire at a fixed point in time or if you manually delete them from your browser, whichever occurs first.
FIRST AND THIRD PARTY COOKIES
Cookies can be classified as 'first party' or 'third party'.
First party cookies: these are cookies placed on your device by our website domain.
Third party cookies: these are cookies placed on your device by third party website domains.
LIST OF COOKIES USED
OTHER TECHNOLOGIES
Web beacons
We use mailerlite to deliver our automated school e-news to your email inbox. Through mailerlite, we embed web beacons in our school news emails and on our website. Web beacons are small GIF image files which enable us to track your receipt of our school news emails, how often you view our news emails, IP address and browser information. Web beacons are activated whenever you open a school news email or access a page on our website which contains a web beacon. Web beacons transmit data when you view them but are not capable of accessing any other information on your computer. Web beacons are not stored on your hard drive unless you download a GIF image containing them.
How to opt in or out of web beacons
See the section below entitled How to accept or reject cookies.
HOW TO ACCEPT OR REJECT COOKIES
No cookies except cookies essential to running our website and its security features are placed on your device until you accept their use. There are a number of different ways in which you can accept or reject some or all cookies and similar technologies. Some of the main methods of doing so are described below:
You are welcome to block the use of some or all of the cookies we use on our website. However, please be aware that doing so may impair our website and its functionality or may even render some or all of it unusable. You should also be aware that clearing all cookies from your browser will also delete any cookies that are storing your preferences, for example, whether you have accepted cookies on a website or any cookies that are blocking other cookies. You can find more detailed information about cookies and adjusting your browser settings by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org
Managing Cookies
Within your browser settings you can choose whether your wish to accept cookies or not. Different browsers make different controls available to you and so we provide links below to popular manufacturers’ instructions on how you can do this. Generally, your browser will offer you the choice to accept, refuse or delete all cookies at all times, or those from providers that website owners use (“third party cookies”), or those from specific websites. Some browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, allow you to change your settings to browse in ‘incognito’ mode, limiting the amount of data placed on your machine and automatically deleting any persistent cookies placed on your device when you finish your browsing session. There are also many third party applications which you can add to your browser to block or manage cookies.