Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

How Progress Network CIC collects, uses, and protects your personal information.

Who We Are

Progress Network CIC is a Community Interest Company registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 12757071). Our registered address is 23 Kings Road, St. Leonards-On-Sea, TN37 6DU.

We are the data controller for the personal information we collect about you and your children. This means we decide how and why your information is used.

Contact us about your data:

Contact Form

Address: 23 Kings Road, St. Leonards-On-Sea, TN37 6DU

What Information We Collect

When you register your child for our programmes:

  • Parent/guardian name and contact details (phone, email, address)
  • Child's name, age, and date of birth
  • Emergency contact information
  • Medical information relevant to their participation (allergies, conditions, medications)
  • Any additional needs or information that helps us support your child

When you attend sessions:

  • Attendance records
  • Payment information (handled securely by our payment processors - we don't store card details)
  • Photographs and videos taken during activities (only with your consent)

When you contact us:

  • Your name, email address, phone number
  • The content of your message or enquiry

When you volunteer with us:

  • Name, address, contact details
  • DBS check information (for safeguarding purposes)
  • References and employment history
  • Emergency contact information

When you donate or support us:

  • Name, contact details
  • Donation amount and payment information (processed securely by Stripe)

Why We Collect This Information

We use your information to:

Run our programmes safely:

  • Register children for sessions
  • Contact you about sessions, events, and cancellations
  • Respond to medical emergencies
  • Keep attendance records
  • Support children with additional needs

Process payments:

  • Handle session bookings and pass purchases
  • Process donations

Keep children safe:

  • Conduct safeguarding checks on volunteers and staff
  • Share information with relevant authorities if we have concerns about a child's welfare (see Safeguarding section below)

Improve our services:

  • Understand who uses our programmes
  • Evaluate impact and report to funders
  • Respond to feedback and enquiries

Stay in touch:

  • Send you newsletters and updates (only if you've agreed to receive them)
  • Share photos and stories on social media

Our Legal Basis

We process your information based on:

Consent:

When you register your child, volunteer, or sign up for communications, you're giving us permission to use your information for these purposes. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Legitimate interests:

We have legitimate reasons to use your information to run our programmes effectively and safely, as long as this doesn't override your rights.

Legal obligation:

Sometimes we must process information to comply with the law - for example, sharing safeguarding concerns with authorities.

Safeguarding and Information Sharing

Child safety always comes first.

If we have concerns about a child's welfare, we may need to share information with:

  • East Sussex Children's Services
  • Police
  • Other safeguarding agencies

We will usually inform parents when we share information, unless doing so would place the child at greater risk. In safeguarding situations, the child's safety overrides privacy considerations.

Who We Share Your Information With

We keep your information private and only share it when necessary:

Payment processors:

  • Stripe (for donations and pass purchases)
  • Ticket Tailor (for event bookings)

These companies process payments securely and have their own privacy policies.

Safeguarding authorities:

As described above, when required to protect children.

Funders and partners:

We may share anonymised, aggregated data (e.g., "we serve 200 families annually") but never personal details without consent.

Third-party services:

We use services like email providers and website hosting. These companies can only use your data to provide services to us and must keep it secure.

  • We never sell your information to third parties.
  • We never share your data for marketing purposes.

Photographs and Videos

We love sharing what happens at our programmes on social media and our website. However, we only use photos and videos of children with explicit parental consent.

When you register, you can choose:

  • Yes, you can use photos/videos of my child on social media and your website
  • Yes, but only for internal use (reports, displays at events, newsletters)
  • No, please don't photograph my child

You can change your mind at any time by contacting us.

Our approach to photos:

  • We never include children's full names with their photos online
  • We don't share information about where and when children will be present
  • We carefully consider which images to share
  • We remove photos immediately if you ask us to

How We Keep Your Information Safe

We take security seriously:

  • Information is stored securely on password-protected systems
  • Paper records are kept in locked storage
  • Only authorised volunteers and staff can access personal information
  • We regularly review who has access and why
  • Payment information is handled by secure, reputable processors (Stripe, Ticket Tailor) - we don't store card details ourselves

We're a small organisation doing our best to follow best practice. If you have concerns about how we handle data, please tell us.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep information for as long as needed:

Active participants: While your child attends our programmes, plus 1 year after they stop (in case they return)
Safeguarding records: We keep safeguarding information for longer periods in line with safeguarding guidance
Financial records: 7 years (legal requirement)
Photographs with consent: Until you withdraw consent or we no longer need them
Volunteers: While you volunteer, plus 6 years after you stop

When we no longer need information, we delete or securely destroy it.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

Access your information: Request a copy of what we hold about you and your children
Correct information: Ask us to update incorrect or incomplete information
Delete your information: Ask us to delete your information (with some exceptions - e.g., safeguarding records, financial records we're legally required to keep)
Object to processing: Ask us to stop using your information in certain ways
Restrict processing: Ask us to limit how we use your information temporarily
Withdraw consent: Stop us using your information where we're relying on your consent (e.g., photos, marketing emails)
Data portability: Receive your information in a common format to transfer elsewhere

To exercise any of these rights, contact us.

We'll respond within one month. We won't charge a fee unless your request is clearly unfounded or excessive.

Children's Privacy

We collect information about children to run our programmes safely. Parents and guardians provide this information and consent to its use.

We're particularly careful with children's information:

  • We only collect what we need
  • We only share it when necessary
  • We protect it carefully
  • We never use it for marketing

Young people aged 13+ who contact us directly (e.g., via social media or email) are entitled to the same privacy rights as adults.

Cookies and Website

Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. These are small files stored on your device.

We use cookies for:

  • Remembering your preferences (e.g., dark mode)
  • Understanding how people use our website (anonymised analytics)
  • Booking events through Ticket Tailor (they set their own cookies)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect how our website works.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy occasionally. When we make significant changes, we'll notify you via email or through a notice on our website.

Last updated: 30 October 2025

Complaints

We hope to resolve any concerns you have about how we handle your information. Please contact us first.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

  • ICO Website: www.ico.org.uk
  • ICO Helpline: 0303 123 1113
  • ICO Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your information:

Contact Us