Privacy policy
How The Good Shepherd Parish collects, uses, shares and protects personal information, including details used for newsletters and parish activities.
Draft for parish review. Legal details and operational practices must be confirmed before publication. Draft prepared .
Who we are
Legal website operator to be confirmed is responsible for deciding how personal information covered by this notice is used under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. In data protection terms, we are the data controller. You can contact us at parish.ourladyofwalsingham@northamptondiocese.org, by telephone on 01536 203121, or by post at Registered address to be confirmed.
This notice covers this website and our usual parish and diocesan activities. A form or service may include a shorter, more specific notice. If another church body, school, charity or service provider is a separate or joint controller, we will identify it when information is collected.
Information we may collect
We collect only information that is relevant to the relationship or activity concerned. Depending on how you are involved with us, this may include:
- Identity and contact details: such as your name, title, postal address, email address and telephone number.
- Parish and family details: such as household relationships, parish affiliation, dates of birth, emergency contacts and communication preferences.
- Sacramental and pastoral information: such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and funeral records, Mass intentions, prayer requests, pastoral notes, and information needed to support a visit or provide appropriate care.
- Participation and volunteering: such as event bookings, group membership, ministry rotas, skills, availability, training, references and safeguarding checks.
- Giving and transactions: such as donation history, Gift Aid declarations, payment references and information required for accounting. Card details are normally handled directly by the payment provider and are not stored by us.
- Communications and media: such as newsletter subscriptions, correspondence, survey responses, photographs, audio or video where appropriate permission or another lawful basis applies.
- Website information: such as IP address, browser and device details, pages requested, and technical or security logs created by our hosting infrastructure.
Sensitive information
Participation in church life may reveal religious belief. Pastoral care, accessibility, safeguarding and volunteering may also involve health information, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or criminal-offence information. Data protection law gives this information extra protection.
We use sensitive information only where it is necessary and where an additional legal condition applies, such as explicit consent, the legitimate activities of a not-for-profit religious body, safeguarding or another substantial public interest condition, vital interests, employment and social protection law, or legal claims. Access is restricted according to role and need.
How we receive information
Most information comes directly from you when you contact us, subscribe, register, donate, volunteer, attend an event, request pastoral support or take part in parish life. We may also receive information from a parent or carer, another parish or diocesan body, a referee, a safeguarding or statutory body, a service provider acting for us, or a public source where this is lawful and appropriate. We will tell you when providing information is required by law or a contract, and what may happen if it is not provided.
Why we use information and our lawful bases
We identify a lawful basis before using personal information. The basis depends on the purpose and circumstances.
- Consent: for example, when you opt in to email news or agree to a particular use of a photograph. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate interests: to respond to enquiries, administer church life, support our community, organise worship and activities, keep appropriate records, protect our systems, communicate with people connected to us and further our charitable mission, where those interests are not overridden by your rights.
- Legal obligation: for accounting, Gift Aid, employment, health and safety, safeguarding, regulatory or other records that the law requires.
- Contract: when information is needed to provide a booked service, manage a hire, purchase or employment relationship, or take steps you request before entering an agreement.
- Vital interests: in a rare emergency where using information is needed to protect someone’s life and consent cannot be obtained.
How we use personal information
We may use relevant information to:
- Parish life and worship: administer registrations, sacraments, services, ministries, rotas, groups, events, pilgrimages and facilities.
- Pastoral care: respond to requests, arrange visits and provide spiritual or practical support.
- Communications: answer enquiries and send service information, newsletters, event invitations, appeals and other updates you have asked or are lawfully eligible to receive.
- People and safeguarding: manage staff and volunteers, training, safer recruitment, DBS or equivalent checks, concerns, incidents and our responsibilities to children and adults at risk.
- Stewardship: process donations, Gift Aid, fundraising, accounts, audits and related correspondence.
- Publications: produce parish notices, newsletters, directories, photographs, recordings and online content with appropriate care and permissions.
- Operations and compliance: keep our premises and digital services secure, prevent misuse, handle complaints, maintain archives and meet legal, regulatory, insurance and canonical responsibilities.
Who we share information with
We share information only when there is a proper reason and only to the extent needed. Recipients may include clergy, authorised employees and volunteers; our diocese and other church bodies; website, email, database, payment, donation and IT providers acting for us; event or ministry partners; professional advisers, accountants, auditors and insurers; and safeguarding, law-enforcement, regulatory or public authorities where required or appropriate.
We require service providers to protect information and use it only for the agreed service. We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share mailing-list details with other organisations for their independent marketing.
International transfers
Some technology or communications providers may process information outside the UK. Where this happens, we check that an approved adequacy arrangement or appropriate contractual and organisational safeguards protect the transfer. You may contact us for more information about the safeguards relevant to your data.
How long we keep information
We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purpose for which it was collected and any legal, safeguarding, insurance, accounting, archival or canonical requirements. Retention depends on the record: routine enquiries and event administration are deleted when no longer needed; marketing details are kept while you remain subscribed, with a limited suppression record after opt-out; financial and Gift Aid records are kept for the applicable statutory period; safeguarding records follow the relevant safeguarding retention policy; and sacramental registers and historically significant archives may be kept permanently.
We review records periodically and securely delete or anonymise information when the retention period ends. Contact us if you would like information about the period that applies to a particular record.
Security and automated decisions
We use proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect information, including access controls, secure service providers, staff and volunteer guidance, backups and incident procedures. No internet or storage system is completely secure, so please avoid sending highly sensitive records by ordinary email. We do not use personal information to make solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
Children and young people
We take particular care with children’s information. We collect only what is needed for sacraments, groups, events, safeguarding and communication, provide age-appropriate information where practical, and seek permission from a parent or carer when required. Safeguarding needs or legal duties may sometimes require us to use or share information without consent.
Your data protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, you may ask us for access to your personal information; ask us to correct, delete or restrict it; object to its use; receive certain information in a portable format; or withdraw consent. These rights are not absolute, and some church, legal or safeguarding records must be retained. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
Your right to object
You have an absolute right to object to direct marketing. You may also object when we rely on legitimate interests; we will stop unless we can demonstrate compelling lawful grounds or the information is needed for legal claims. Use the unsubscribe option in an email or contact us using the details below.
Questions and complaints
Contact The Good Shepherd Parish first at parish.ourladyofwalsingham@northamptondiocese.org if you want to exercise a right, ask how we use your information or make a complaint. We will try to resolve your concern.
You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. Its current contact details and complaint process are available at ico.org.uk. If you are outside the UK, you may also have the right to contact your local data protection authority.
- Information Commissioner’s Office: Make a data protection complaint
Changes to this notice
We review this notice when our activities, providers or legal responsibilities change. We will publish material changes here and, where appropriate, bring them to the attention of people affected. The date above shows when this version was last updated.