Cookie Policy
Last updated: October 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how Flourish Fostering Ltd (“Flourish Fostering”, “we”, “us” or “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on flourishfostering.co.uk. It should be read together with our Privacy Notice, which explains how we use personal information more generally.
1. What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your computer, phone or tablet when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, to remember your preferences and to give website owners information about how their site is being used. Similar technologies, such as tracking pixels and scripts, work in much the same way and are covered by this policy.
Cookies set by us are called “first-party” cookies. Cookies set by another organisation, for example an analytics or advertising provider, are called “third-party” cookies.
2. How we use cookies
We use cookies for the following purposes:
- Strictly necessary cookies – needed for the website to work, to keep it secure and to remember your cookie choices. These do not need your consent.
- Analytics cookies – help us understand how people find and use our website so that we can improve it. These are only used if you consent.
- Marketing and advertising cookies – help us measure the effectiveness of our advertising and show relevant adverts about fostering on other websites and social media. These are only used if you consent.
- Enquiry and relationship-tracking cookies – help us connect website visits with enquiries made through our forms so that we can respond appropriately. These are only used if you consent.
We do not regard simply continuing to browse our website as consent to non-essential cookies.
3. The cookies we use
The tables below list the cookies we use, or may use, on our website. The exact cookies set may change over time as we update the services we use.
Strictly necessary cookies
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cookie preferences | Flourish Fostering | Remembers the cookie choices you have made so that we do not ask you again on every page. | Up to 12 months |
| Security and session cookies | Flourish Fostering | Used to keep the website secure and working correctly, for example to protect forms from misuse. | Session, or up to 24 hours |
Analytics cookies – Google Analytics (Google LLC)
We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our website, for example which pages are viewed, how long visitors stay and how they arrived. The information is aggregated and is not used to identify you personally. Further information is available in Google’s cookie information.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes unique visitors by assigning a randomly generated identifier. | 2 years | |
| _ga_<container-id> | Used to persist session state for Google Analytics 4. | 2 years | |
| _gcl_au | Used by Google Ads to measure how effective our adverts are, by recording whether someone who clicked an advert goes on to make an enquiry. | 90 days | |
| _gcl_aw | Stores information about a Google advert you clicked on before arriving at our website, so that we can measure the enquiries that follow. | 90 days |
Marketing cookies – Meta Pixel (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd)
We use the Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Pixel to measure the results of our advertising and to show our adverts to people who may be interested in fostering. Meta may combine this information with other information it holds about you if you have a Facebook or Instagram account. Further information is available in Meta’s cookie policy.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _fbp | Meta | Identifies browsers for the purposes of advertising and measuring the effectiveness of adverts. | 90 days |
| _fbc | Meta | Stores information about an advert you clicked on before arriving at our website. | 90 days |
| fr | Meta | Used to deliver, measure and improve the relevance of adverts. | 90 days |
Enquiry tracking – Outfunnel (Outfunnel Oy)
We use Outfunnel to connect visits to our website with enquiries made through our forms, so that our team can see how an enquiry came to us and respond appropriately. Further information is available in Outfunnel’s privacy policy.
| Cookie | Provider | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| of.firstVisit | Outfunnel | Records how a visitor first arrived at our website (the lead source). | No fixed expiry (persistent) |
| of.lastPageviews | Outfunnel | Records the most recent pages viewed during a visit. | No fixed expiry (persistent) |
| of.humanVerified, of.humanVerified.event | Outfunnel | Records whether a visit appears to be from a person rather than an automated bot. | No fixed expiry (persistent) |
| ofs | Outfunnel | Stores session information and, where you submit a form, links your visit to your enquiry. | No fixed expiry (persistent) |
| of.cookiesSupported | Outfunnel | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies. | No fixed expiry (persistent) |
4. Your choices
When you first visit our website you can choose which optional cookies you allow. You can change your mind, or withdraw your consent, at any time using the cookie settings link in the footer of our website. If you withdraw consent we will stop setting the relevant cookies, although cookies that have already been set may remain on your device until they expire or you delete them.
You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies; the “Help” section of your browser will explain how. Please note that blocking all cookies, including strictly necessary ones, may mean that parts of our website do not work properly. For general guidance on managing cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, and manage the adverts you see on Facebook and Instagram through your Meta ad preferences.
5. Sharing and international transfers
The providers named above receive information collected through their cookies. Some of them are based outside the UK, so information may be transferred to other countries, including the United States. Where this happens, the transfer is made under the safeguards required by UK data-protection law. Please see each provider’s own privacy information for details. We do not sell your personal information.
6. Changes to this policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time, for example if we change the cookies or services we use. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. We encourage you to check it periodically.
7. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or how we use cookies, please contact us:
General enquiries:
hello@flourishfostering.co.uk
Telephone: 0808 129 5311
Flourish Fostering South
The Cedars
Holborough Road
Snodland
Kent ME6 5PL
Flourish Fostering North
57A Buxton Road
Stockport
SK2 6NB
For questions about your data-protection rights, please see our Privacy Notice. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.