Privacy Policy

Who We Are

The Friendship Project for Children is a Warwickshire based charity supporting disadvantaged children. It is a registered charity (charity no 517684) which is additionally registered as a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 (reg no ZA230554). This privacy policy explains how we use any personal information we collect about you, and reflects the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Our commitment to children’s privacy

We take the privacy and safety of children and young people very seriously.

Our website is intended for a general audience and is not designed to collect personal data directly from children without appropriate adult involvement. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children through our website.

How we use your personal data

We use personal data to:

  • Respond to enquiries and messages
  • Provide information you have requested
  • Operate and improve our website
  • Ensure the security and integrity of our systems
  • Meet our legal and safeguarding obligations as a charity
  • We do not use personal data for advertising or profiling.

What information do we collect about you?

We collect information about you when you apply to volunteer with us, or when you register a child with us. If donations are made to the charity from individuals or organisations please refer to the Marketing section below.

How will we use the information about you?

The Friendship Project for Children will not share your personal information with any external organisations or companies, other than specifically in relation to the volunteer or child within the matching process where it will be necessary to interface with the referring professional of the Younger Friend. The latter, we may also share with statutory bodies who are authorised to request this information. Additionally, in the event of any case studies being used these will be appropriately anonymised. We will communicate via telephone, email, social media and post.
We will retain the volunteer and child information in secure storage and on our secure database for up to 50 years, as required historically by our insurers.

If you post or send any content that we believe to be inappropriate or content in breach of any laws, such as defamatory content, we may use your personal information to inform relevant third parties such as your internet provider or law enforcement agencies.

Lawful bases for processing

Under UK data protection law, we rely on the following lawful bases:

  • Legitimate interests
    We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests as a charity, such as responding to enquiries and understanding how our website is used, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
  • Consent (where required)
    Where consent is required by law, we will ask for it clearly and you may withdraw it at any time.
  • Legal obligation
    We may process personal data where necessary to comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

Marketing

  • Individuals
    We would use your information with your consent to provide you with updates and communication of what is going on within the Friendship Project. You have the right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes. If you no longer wish to be contacted please contact our Project Administrator on 07516 527714 or karen.hoy@friendshipproject.co.uk.
  • Organisations
    We would use your information to provide you with updates, communication of what is going on within the Friendship Project plus, where appropriate, funding appeals and grant applications. We have undertaken a legitimate interest assessment, which confirms legitimate interest as the lawful basis of processing of your data. You have the right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes. If you no longer wish to be contacted please contact our Project Administrator on 07516 527714 or karen.hoy@friendshipproject.co.uk.

Access to your information and correction

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of the information please contact our Project Administrator on 07516 527714 or karen.hoy@friendshipproject.co.uk.

We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to remove or correct information that you think in inaccurate.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For detailed information about the cookies we use and why, please see our Cookies Policy.

Changes to our privacy policy

We will regularly review our Privacy Policy and will place any updates on our website and also update our Guidelines.

Who we share data with

We do not sell or rent personal data.

We may share limited personal data with trusted service providers who help us operate our website or services (for example, website hosting or analytics providers). These providers are required to protect your data and use it only for agreed purposes.

How long we keep data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary:

  • Enquiry and contact data: typically up to 12–24 months
  • Website analytics data: in line with Google Analytics retention settings

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Access your personal data
  • Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Request deletion of your data
  • Object to or restrict processing
  • Withdraw consent (where applicable)

To exercise your rights, please contact us using the details below.

How to contact us

For further information on how your information is used, how we maintain the security of your information and your rights to access information we hold on you, please contact our Project Administrator on 07516 527714 or karen.hoy@friendshipproject.co.uk.

Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy and our privacy practices or if you wish to file a complaint, please contact our Project Administrator on 07516 527714 or karen.hoy@friendshipproject.co.uk.

You may also complete our complaints form.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been processed in a way that does not comply with the GDPR. You can do so by calling the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113 or via their website www.ico.org.uk

Dated: 7 January 2026