How we use cookies on our website

A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to store. When you come back, your browser shares the file with the site again so it can keep you logged in, remember your preferences, or measure how the site is being used. Cookies differ in what they collect, who sets them, and how long they last.

The Cookies We Use

We group the cookies on this site into three categories: strictly necessary, analytics, and security. We do not run advertising or profiling cookies on this site, and we never sell data.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These keep the site working and secure. Without them, you couldn't log in to your Customer Portal, submit a form, or use the helpdesk widget. Under Regulation 6(4) of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), strictly necessary cookies don't require your consent because the site can't function without them. You can still block them in your browser, but parts of the site will stop working. These cookies do not store personal information for marketing or tracking purposes.

Cookie	Set by	Purpose	Duration
CONCRETE5	iCT4 (first party)	Maintains your session on the website	Session
fw_fr	Helpdesk plugin (first party)	Maintains the live chat session with our support team	Session
fw_flu	Helpdesk plugin (first party)	Tracks first visit so the helpdesk recognises returning users	1 year
fw_vi	Helpdesk plugin (first party)	Identifies the chat visitor for the duration of the session	Session
fw_sq	Helpdesk plugin (first party)	Stores helpdesk queue position	Session
first_session	Helpdesk plugin (first party)	Records whether this is the user's first session	1 year

 

Analytics Cookies (consent required)

We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is being used: which pages people read, how long they stay, and which devices and browsers they're on. We use that to make the site clearer and more useful for school leaders and IT teams.

Google Analytics is a third party service. Some of the data is processed by Google in the United States under standard contractual clauses approved by the UK government. Because data flows to Google, this does not fall within the new low risk analytics exemption introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, so we ask for your explicit consent before any analytics cookies are set. If you don't accept, the site works in full.

Cookie	Set by	Purpose	Duration
_ga	Google (third party)	Distinguishes individual users	2 years
_ga_XXXXXXXXXX	Google (third party)	Stores session state for the property	2 years
_gid	Google (third party)	Distinguishes individual users for 24 hours	24 hours

 

You can find more about how Google uses data from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/cookies.

Security cookies (Google reCAPTCHA)

Our contact form uses Google reCAPTCHA to keep out spam and bots. reCAPTCHA sets a small number of cookies in your browser when a page containing a form loads, including _GRECAPTCHA, which lasts up to six months. We treat these as strictly necessary because the form cannot be protected without them, but we want you to know they exist and that data is shared with Google.

Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can change or withdraw consent at any time, in two ways:

1. Click Manage cookie preferences in the footer of any page on ict4.co.uk to reopen our consent tool.
2. Use your browser settings to block or delete cookies. Every browser is slightly different; the Help menu in yours will explain how.

Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it. If you withdraw analytics consent, we stop those cookies being set the next time you load a page, and we can request deletion of analytics data through Google's data management tools.

The legal framework

We follow UK data protection law in how we handle cookies and any personal data they relate to:

PECR (the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003), which sets the rules on cookies. Strictly necessary cookies sit under the Regulation 6(4) exemption. Everything else needs your prior consent.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, which govern any personal data we process as a result of cookies being set.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), which amended PECR from 5 February 2026 to introduce limited new exemptions for low risk analytics, security, and accessibility cookies. We've reviewed our cookie use against these new exemptions. Because our analytics involves a third party processor and a transfer outside the UK, it still requires consent.

We do not rely on implied consent. We do not pre tick boxes. Reject is as prominent as Accept.

Your rights

You have the right to ask what personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct or erase it, ask us to restrict how we use it, and object to certain types of processing. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first, so please contact us before you complain.

We're iCT4, a B Corp certified IT partner working exclusively with UK schools and trusts. This page explains how we use cookies on ict4.co.uk, what choices you have, and how UK law applies. We've kept it plain English. If anything is unclear, please email hello@ict4.co.uk and we'll be happy to help.