1. Introduction
1.1 Grove Park Community Group (GPCG) (a registered charity #1046082), is committed to protecting your privacy and so is being transparent about how we collect, use and share information you give us.
1.2 Please note that if you have booked a session with one of our user groups, they are responsible for their own handling of any information you share with them.
2. What Information Do We Collect and How Do We Collect It
2.1 We collect your information in several ways:
- (a) when you subscribed to our mailing list via the website
- (b) when you have given us your email at specific events or open days
- (c) when you email us with information or questions about activities at The Ringway Centre or GPCG
- (d) we may receive your details from charitable giving platforms if you have signed up to one of our events (please do review any such policies before giving your data to these platforms)
- (e) when you otherwise engage with us via email
- (f) when you complete and sign a booking form
- (g) when you make a payment to join one of our activities or events at The Ringway Centre
2.2 If you have emailed us, or subscribed to our mailing list, of left us your email and name as part of an event day, we will hold your name and email address only by default.
Photography and Social Media
2.3 We will sometimes use photography to help promote the sessions we run at The Ringway Centre. If we plan on taking photos or video for a particular session and purpose, where children may be identifiable, we will inform participants of this and ask if anyone does not wish to be captured. If we use the material on our website, we will always ask for your written consent if individuals are identifiable.
2.4 On occasion, we may take non-identifiable photos of the session from a distance, or not showing children’s faces which we then use on social media to promote the programme. If we do, we will mention it during the sessions.
2.5 If you have any concerns or do not wish to be captured in any way, please do inform us when booking.
2.6 We are not responsible for any photography/videos captured by other participating parents/guardians who may post these on social media during events at The Ringway Centre. If capturing your own child, please try not to include other children without prior permission of their parent/guardian.
3. Why We Collect Information
3.1 We collect basic contact information to allow us to stay in touch with you about forthcoming activities, events, volunteer days at The Ringway Centre or within local area that we think you will be interested in.
3.2 We only collect more specific information about attendees as part of the booking process to ensure we can run the sessions safely and securely. Often our user groups are responsible for the data they collect from you directly.
3.3 Subscribing to our mailing list allows us to contact you with updates about The Ringway Centre or activities by our user groups which we think you will be interested in.
4. How We Use Your Data
Marketing and Communications
4.1 If you contact us by email, via the subscription link on the website, or via a booking, we will collate your name and email into our Mailchimp database. We will then use this list to contact you by email, to let you know about our events and activities and projects (and sometimes those of relevant third parties) related to the mission of the GCPG.
4.2 We provide the opportunity for you to opt-out from receiving our marketing communications every time we contact you. You can opt-out from receiving our communications, or update your contact preferences at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our email communications.
Planning Inclusive and Fun Sessions
4.3 We will use attendance records to help us plan for future events by reviewing trends of who attends, e.g. particular age groups.
4.4 We will often collect ethno-demographic information (optional when completing forms) to help us plan open, inclusive and accessible sessions for all. This data helps us understand whether we are reaching all members of the community, as we want all children of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the experiences that access to nature brings about. We keep this data separately as anonymised records to help us plan future activities.
5. How We Manage and Share Your Data
5.1 We are committed to ensuring that there are appropriate controls in place to protect your personal details including from misuse and unauthorised access.
5.2 We do not sell or share your personal details with third parties for them to use for marketing purposes.
5.3 If a local organisation has information to share relevant to the local area, we will do this on their behalf and not share your data with them.
5.4 We may need to disclose your personal information upon request to regulatory and government bodies, or law enforcement agencies.
5.5 On occasion we may need to work with our technical partners (e.g. our web designer and hosting company) who may be given temporary access to our databases (Mailchimp) or websites, to fix faults, or work on upgrading or managing our online tools. We have agreements in place to ensure this is done with strictest confidence and this access is only to assist with technical services. They are not permitted to extract and/or sell on any information. Passwords are regularly changed to respond to any such temporary access granted.
5.6 We use Mailchimp to manage our mailing list. Mailchimp has their own Privacy Policy which we recommend you read.
5.7 Our website and email server is securely hosted by a hosting service provider. However the transmission of information via online platforms is not totally without risk.
5.8 Booking forms are kept in a secure password protected folder on a password protected laptop. They will not be printed out, unless absolutely necessary, and often only in summary form to help with keeping track of attendance on the day of the event/session. When we finish with printed out copies, these will be shredded.
6. Your Rights and Subject Access Requests
6.1 Except in limited circumstances, you have the right to obtain details of the information that we hold about you. If you would like to do so please email us.
6.2 We also want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. Please let us know if your details change. You may also ask us to correct or remove information which is inaccurate.
6.3 You can also opt-out of receiving our communications by unsubscribing at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails.
6.4 If you are unhappy with the way in which we have handled your personal data please email us.
6.5 In certain circumstances you have a right to require us to stop processing your personal data in a particular way. The legal basis that we rely on for processing your data is either where:
- You have provided your consent to us using your data in a certain way; or
- It is within our legitimate interests; or
- It is necessary in connection with the performance of a contract with you; or
- It is necessary to, for compliance with a legal obligation, to which we are subject.
6.6 You have a right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you. If you want to access your information, please send a description of the information you want to see and proof of your identity to info@gpcg.org.uk.
6.7 Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns about the way that your data is being processed by contacting us. You are also entitled to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s office, and for further information see the Information Commissioner’s guidance.
7. Data Retention
7.1 We keep data for as long as there is a need to keep it in connection with the purposes for which it was collected.
7.2 We may keep your personal data after a particular matter or exchange has concluded but purely for record keeping purposes and to be able to respond to queries. In some cases, we are also obliged to retain your personal data to comply with legal or statutory obligations (for example, to keep records of contractual or financial matters).
7.3 Booking records will be deleted after 3 months after attendance, unless you join further sessions and you ask us to use previously collected data (if it hasn’t changed).
7.4 For other data, whilst the specific time periods vary depending on the circumstances, in general we will not keep records that include personal data for more than 6 years after a particular matter or exchange has concluded.
7.5 Any paper records are shredded with a cross-shredder.
8. Changes To This Privacy Policy
8.1 This privacy policy was last updated in June 2024.