What are Cookies?

Cookies are little pieces of information which pass between any website you are visiting and your computer, tablet or smartphone. 

They are very clever and can be used to record how long you spend on a webpage, what links you click, even your preference for page layouts and colour schemes.  They can also be used to store data on what is in your 'shopping cart', or tailor the adverts you see online to reflect your interests.

What is the new Cookie Law all about?

A new EU wide law on the use of Cookies comes into effect in the UK on Saturday 26 May 2012.  This requires all users to give 'informed and specific' consent for the continued use of Cookies.

PTA-UK and the use of Cookies

The PTA-UK website does use Cookies.  These have been audited by an independent third party organisation (completed November 2012).  The audit found that the use of cookies on the PTA-UK website is limited and with low level intrusiveness.  This is a complete list of all the cookies that have been identified as running on the PTA-UK website:

For information, Google Analytics is a tool we use to provide us with information on the use of our website.  For example, it tells us the number of visitors the site receives every day, where they have come from, what content they read as well as how long they spend on the site.  This helps us to understand use of our site and informs its development.  Google Analytics only provides aggregated data and does not collect personal information - so we can't tell which individuals have visited the site or how they have made use of it.

PTA-UK will continue to monitor its use of cookies.  We are exploring ways to make sure any listing is kept up-to-date at all times but in the meantime we will provide you with updates periodically.

Third party sites

A key part of PTA-UK's role is to provide PTAs with access to other relevant organisations and information.  This website therefore provides extensive links to other third party sites.  It is probable that these all use cookies.  Any third party site should provide you with information on their use of cookies which you may wish to review before further accessing the site.  Please note, none of these linked third party websites run cookies on the PTA-UK website. 

Disabling Cookies

It is possible to disable the cookies we use via your browser settings, although this may affect your experience of our website.  If you would like to delete cookies or want more information please go to About Cookies.

Implied consent

Your continued use of this website is deemed to provide PTA-UK with your implied consent to the operation of the cookies on the site as detailed.

Cookies and your PTA website

The PTA-UK annual member survey conducted in March 2012 found that most PTAs have some form of web presence but that the majority of you continue to have this through the school's website.  For those of you who are simply supplying content to be featured on the school's website, we feel the requirements of the new Cookie Law will need to be addressed by the school rather than you or your PTA. 

However, if your PTA has it own website, you will need to have regard to the Cookie Law.  For simple sites, with just a few pages, some browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox have add-ins which will allow you to identify the Cookies on your site.  As it is likely your site will only contain a low level of Cookies, you could write a simple Cookie policy explaining to your users what Cookies you have and what they do.  You may want to use this Cookie Policy as a model.

The Cookie Law will be enforced in the UK by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and there is a significant fine for non-compliance.  However, PTA-UK would recommend not becoming alarmed.  The ICO has made it clear that it will give all organisations that do not comply time to rectify before any action is taken. New guidance has been published by the ICO.  This has made clear that despite what has been said in the press, implied consent for use of cookies is still valid.  This might be achieved by giving users information on your use of cookies and stating that their continued use of your site means they have accepted this policy.

PTA-UK will continue to monitor the implementation of the new Cookie Law and will provide additional advice as best practice begins to be established.

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