Cookie policy
This page is about the cookies on Check if you are eligible for childcare funding.
Cookies
Cookies are small files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.
We use cookies to make this site work and collect information about how you use our service.
Essential Cookies
Essential cookies keep your information secure while you use Help for early years providers. We do not need to ask permission to use them.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| cookie_policy | Saves your cookie consent settings | 6 months |
| .AspNetCore.Session | Maintains your progress through the checker | 20 hours |
| .AspNetCore.Antiforgery.* | Protects against CSRF attacks | When you close your browser |
Analytics cookies (optional)
With your permission, we use cookies for:
- Google Analytics
- Microsoft Clarity
These help us understand how users interact with Help for early years providers and improve the service. Data collected is anonymised. Neither Google nor Microsoft are allowed to use or share our analytics data with anyone.
We also send cross-domain tracking information to GOV.UK to help us understand and monitor performance data across multiple public services.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics stores anonymised information about:
- how you use the website
- which pages you visit
- time spent and the actions taken on pages you visit
It uses this information to create anonymised reports and insights into:
- user behaviour
- traffic sources
- engagement metrics
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga_F0DGNDC4S8 | Generates statistics about how you use the website | 2 years |
| _ga | Helps count how many people visit this site by tracking if you’ve visited before | 2 years |
| _gid | Helps count how many people visit this site by tracking if you’ve visited before | 24 hours |
| Google Analytics data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| User Data (that is, identifiers tied to sessions and demographics.) | 14 months |
| Event Data (that is, interactions such as page views, events, and conversions.) | 14 months |
Microsoft Clarity
Microsoft Clarity stores anonymised information about:
- how you use the website
- which pages you visit
It uses this information to create anonymised:
- recordings of sessions
- heatmaps
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _clck | Persists the Clarity User ID and preferences, unique to that site is attributed to the same user ID | 1 year |
| _clsk | Connects multiple page views by a user into a single Clarity session recording | 24 hours |
| CLID | Identifies the first-time Clarity saw this user on any site using Clarity | 1 year |
| ANONCHK | Indicates whether MUID is transferred to ANID, a cookie used for advertising. Clarity doesn’t use ANID and so this is always set to 0. | 10 minutes |
| MR | Indicates whether to refresh MUID | 1 week |
| MUID | Identifies unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. These cookies are used for advertising, site analytics, and other operational purposes | 25 days |
| SM | Used in synchronising the MUID across Microsoft domains | When you close your browser |
| Clarity data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Click Data (that is, data shown on the Clarity portal or aggregated data per page on the website such as the URL, user ID, and pointer distance) | 13 months |
| Playback Data (that is, the data captured for playing back recordings) | 30 days |
| Sessions labelled or favourited | 13 months |