Cookie Policy

1. Who we are

Social Work Enterprise Ltd trades as Sparks Fostering. We are an independent fostering provider registered in England and Wales (Ofsted URN 2700371, ICO Identifier ZB347699). We recruit, assess, train, and support foster parents, matching them with children who are in the care of a local authority.

Our main Privacy Notice, which explains in full how we collect, use, and protect personal data across all of our activities, is our Privacy Policy, available at this web page.

2. What this Cookie Notice covers

This notice explains what cookies and similar tracking technologies are, which ones we use on our website at https://www.sparksfostering.org, why we use them, and how you can control them.

It does not apply to any third-party websites that we link to; those sites have their own cookie and privacy policies.

3. What cookies and similar technologies are

A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device (computer, tablet, or phone) when you visit it. Cookies are widely used to make websites work, to make them work more efficiently, and to provide information to the website owner.

As well as cookies, websites can use other technologies that store or access information on your device. These include:

• Pixels (web beacons): tiny, often invisible images embedded in a webpage or email that record whether you visited a page or opened a message.
• Local storage and session storage: browser-based storage areas that can hold data between pages or sessions without using a traditional cookie.
• Fingerprinting techniques: methods that collect information about your browser and device settings to identify you across visits without placing a traditional cookie.
• Scripts and tags: pieces of code loaded through Google Tag Manager that may set cookies or collect data when they run.

In this notice, we use the word “cookie” to cover all of these technologies unless we say otherwise.

Cookies can be:

• Session cookies: deleted automatically when you close your browser.
• Persistent cookies: stored on your device for a set period and remaining until that period expires or you delete them.
• First-party cookies: set by us, the website you are visiting.
• Third-party cookies: set by another organisation whose content or functionality appears on our site, for example an analytics or advertising provider.

4. The legal framework

In the United Kingdom, the use of cookies is governed primarily by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), specifically Regulation 6, which controls the storage of and access to information on users’ devices. Where cookies also process personal data, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) apply alongside PECR.

5. Cookies we use

The tables below list every cookie we have identified on our website). We have organised them by category. Where information is missing, we have indicated this with a gap marker.

6.1 Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function. They do not require your consent under PECR Regulation 6(4). We cannot switch them off in our systems, and they are usually set only in response to actions you take, such as completing a form or logging in.

6.2 Marketing Communications Cookies

These cookies collect information about how visitors use our website, for example, which pages are visited, how long visitors spend on each page, and general location information. They are also be used to show relevant advertising and to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

6.3 Analytics cookies

These cookies enable us to record how visitors interact with our site, including mouse movements, clicks, and scrolling behaviour, and may generate session recordings and heatmaps.

7. How we obtain, record, and manage your consent

You have the right to consent to or refuse cookies (other than strictly necessary cookies), and to withdraw any consent previously given at any time, without detriment.

We use a Consent Management Platform to record your consent decisions and to allow you to retrieve and manage consent settings. The link at the bottom of every webpage labelled “Privacy Preferences” enables you to reach the user interface for managing cookie preferences.

Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Please note that blocking all cookies may impair your ability to use certain features of our website. Use the links below to get more information on managing cookies in common browsers:

• Google Chrome: chrome://settings/cookies
• Mozilla Firefox: about:preferences#privacy
• Microsoft Edge: edge://settings/privacy
• Apple Safari: Preferences > Privacy
• Opera: opera://settings/cookies

8. International Data Transfers

Some of the third-party cookies described in Section 4 result in the transfer of personal data to countries outside the United Kingdom and/or European Economic Area (EEA), including to the United States. Where such transfers occur, we rely on the following appropriate safeguards:

• UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) (for UK transfers)
• EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission (2021/914/EU) (for EEA transfers)
• UK Extension to the EU SCCs (where applicable)
• EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) adequacy decision, where the recipient is certified (for EEA-to-US transfers)
• UK-US Data Bridge (where the recipient is certified, for UK-to-US transfers)

9. Children

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly deploy non-essential cookies in relation to users we identify as children. If you believe a child has provided personal data through our website, please contact us at [email protected] so we can take appropriate steps.

10. Your Data Protection Rights

Where cookies process personal data, you may have the following rights depending on applicable law:

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. In the UK: the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), ico.org.uk. However, please first address complaints first to Sparks Fostering and/or it’s Data Protection Officer using the information in section 12 below.

11. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We review this Cookie Policy at least annually, and whenever our cookie practices change materially. Where we make significant changes, we will notify you by updating the “Effective Date” and “Version” at the top of this document and, where required, by re-presenting our CMP consent prompt. The current version of this Cookie Policy is always available on this web page.

12. Complaints

Complaints with respect to cookies and other personal data processing on this website should be raised to [email protected], the Data Protection Officer for Sparks Fostering. We commit to acknowledging all requests and responding to them in a timely manner, usually within 30 days.

Complaints with respect to any of the foster care agency activities for Sparks Fostering should first be raised with Sparks Fostering via [email protected]. Sparks Fostering is regulated by Ofsted.

Last updated: 2 July 2026