Privacy
Kent County Scout Council', also known as ‘Kent Scouts’ is a UK based charity (Charity number 303471) operating in the Local Authorities of Kent County Council and Medway Council. We are the County provision of Scouting under the umbrella organisation of ‘The Scout Association’.
We support local Scouting across Kent and Medway. We also operate ‘Lower Grange Farm’ our County Headquarters and Activity Centre which is open to members of the public.
This privacy policy explains why and how we use information that we collect.
What information do we collect and why?
Membership and joining information
As a membership organisation we collect and process information about our members to provide Scouting to them. This may include Personal or Special information such as:
- Name and contact details
- Gender
- Date of Birth
- Religion
- Ethnicity
- Scouting Position, Group, District and County Details
- Award Information
- Event Information
- Details on Scouting Career
- Qualifications and Permits
We use this information to communicate with our membership and carry out our obligations as a Scouting County. We have a responsibility to keep information about you, both during your membership and afterwards (due to our safeguarding responsibilities and also to help us if you leave or rejoin).
The use of personal data includes:
- To enable us to provide a voluntary service for the benefit of the public
- To manage our volunteers
- To manage our membership records
- To update members
- To report on our membership
- For financial accounting
We also collect information from those looking to join Scouting. As a youth organisation we collect information on young people under the age of 18.
Events and activities
We use registration forms to sign up for activities and events. We collect this information to facilitate the event. It is often necessary to also collect sensitive information relating to the participant including health information. This is used to safely facilitate the event and isn’t passed to any third party – with the exception of medical professionals in the case of a medical emergency.
We may send you communications relating to the event you have registered for using the details provided. If you have been asked to provide an ‘Emergency’ or ‘home contact’ we may contact them during the event if required.
Training records and assessment information
Kent Scouts ethos is to train adults and young people. It is necessary to record this information to ensure that individuals have the correct skills, training and experience to take part in and lead various activities.
Training records are stored by the relevant activity or training teams and referenced when checking the validity of qualifications.
Our activity centre operates courses including NICAS (National Indoor Climbing Achievement Scheme) and keeps a record of all participants.
Badge requests
The County operates a number of badge schemes. Claiming a badge normally requires contact and delivery details to fulfil the order request. This information will be used to fulfil the order and in some cases allow for a member of the County team to make contact to arrange a presentation.
Donations
Kent Scouts record details of any donation, in our financial systems. In addition we use a number of online donation platforms to facilitate making donations. If you are making a donation using one of these platforms, the details will also be stored here and will also be subject to their privacy policy.
We may contact you about your donation, or to provide an update on how your money has been spent. We also operate ongoing donation schemes like ‘Friends of Lower Grange Farm’ where we will keep you updated whilst you are an active donor, unless you choose not to receive such communications.
When making a donation, if eligible, you can opt to Gift Aid your donation(s). We will use the information provided to process your Gift Aid application and Gift Aid any subsequent donations.
Communications
Our marketing communications such as email newsletters are provided on an opt-in basis by supplying your details. You can unsubscribe from these at any time by using the unsubscribe links provided (normally at the bottom of the email). Where a communication is important to your membership, role or booking we will contact you regardless of any subscription preferences.
Bookings
Our activity centre, Lower Grange Farm facilitates a wide range of events and bookings.
We collect personal information, where provided, to enable us to fulfil enquiries and facilitate bookings.
This information includes:
- Contact information
- Details of participants (potentially including health information)
- Payment information
We store booking information in a secure booking management system. We use your information to facilitate the booking or event. If you have opted to hear from us going forward we may also contact you with marketing communications.
Lower Grange Farm operates a database of individuals using our climbing centre following a climbing competency test. We store personal information including contact details and health information. We store this information to allow safe use of the centre and appropriate treatment in case of an incident. This allows members to repeatedly use the centre without having to continuously submit the same information. If you have opted to hear from us, we will contact you with information regarding the climbing centre.
Accident reporting
We have a duty to report accidents and near misses. The nature of the incident will determine the process followed.
Where appropriate these may be reported to:
- Parents/Guardians
- Home contact/In touch contact
- The Health and Safety Executive
- The Scout Association
- Scout Insurance Services (Unity)
- Emergency services/health professionals
- Our insurers
- Other professional bodies we belong to
The accident report will be kept in line with National Scouting guidelines and the requirements of our insurers.
CCTV
For the security and safety of our site, staff and visitors we operate CCTV at our activity centre headquarters, Lower Grange Farm.
CCTV footage is stored onsite and automatically erased on a rolling basis of ~30 days.
In the event of a security or safety incident that requires us to retain the footage for a longer period and/or to pass to law enforcement agencies, the footage in question will be exported from the CCTV system and stored for a long as required.
Photography and videography
Attending events facilitated by Kent Scouts may mean that you are photographed or videoed. We will use these images for non-commercial Scouting purposes including promoting future events, social media, documents and publications, websites, press.
If you do not wish to be photographed/videoed you can make the event organiser or the camera operator aware and we will do our best to comply with your wishes. If your photograph is taken and subsequently published, you can contact our Data Protection Officer to have it removed.
We aim to seek appropriate permission before publishing full names alongside videos, images or quotes which identify the individual.
Payments
Electronic payments are handled directly by our payment merchants and we do not store your payment data. This information is stored as per the payment processing merchants’ policy.
How we use your information
In most instances our lawful basis for processing is ‘Contract’ to provide ‘Scouting’, an event or activity or to facilitate a booking.
We may also contact our members to communicate important information relating to their role. Our lawful basis for processing is ‘Legitimate Interest’.
We rely on ‘Consent’ when signing up for optional communications.
Where we collect special category data such as health information and data on young people/adults, processing is carried out in the course of our legitimate activities with appropriate safeguards, on the condition that the processing relates solely to members, Lower Grange Farm users or former members of The Scout Association.’ Condition (d) in Article 9(2).
How your information is stored
Kent Scouts uses a number of specialist systems for storing and processing personal information. We carefully select the providers that we work with to ensure they have strong data policies in place and meet the requirements of GDPR.
Further details about these systems are available on request.
How long your personal data will be kept
We keep information for different periods of time for different purposes as required by law or best practice. Event information is normally kept for 1 year following the event.
As far as membership information is concerned, to make sure of continuity (for example leavers and then re-joiners) and to carry out our legal responsibilities relating to safeguarding young people, we keep membership information throughout the membership and after it ends.
Details about the retention of specific data can be obtained by contacting our Data Protection Officer.
Who do we share your personal information with
As a membership organisation, member data is shared with The Scout Association.
We don’t share personal information with third parties except where expressly detailed or where required by law enforcement.
Your rights
GDPR legislation gives you a number of rights regarding your personal information which you can access at no cost:
- The right to be informed – we aim to be transparent about the information we collect and why we are using it. You can request further information from us at any time
- The right of access – you can request the information we hold about you
- The right to rectification – you can request us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold
- The right to erasure – you can request us to delete the information held on you
- The right to restrict processing – you can request us not to process your data in a particular way
- The right to data portability – to have us transfer your information electronically to yourself or another provider
- The right to object – to object to how we are using your information
- Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
We will always aim to comply with your request unless there is a legitimate reason for us to use your information or to comply with lawful obligations.
If you have a concern about how your data has been collected or used you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office – https://ico.org.uk.
How to contact us
You can contact our Data Protection Officer – dpo@kentscouts.org.uk
Our postal address is:
Kent Scouts Activity Centre
Lower Grange Farm
Grange Lane
Sandling
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 3DA
Tel: 01622 397070
Kent Scouts GD Privacy Notice v1 - May 2018