1. Your personal data – what is it?

Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data.  Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) 2018.

2. Who are we? 

The Potteries Vineyard Church is a Christian Church based in Stoke-on-Trent and is affiliated to Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland. The Potteries Vineyard Church is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England and Wales under charity number 1200283.

Your personal data is important to us and we take great care in how we look after it and how we use it. In the language of the UK GDPR, The Potteries Vineyard Church is the data controller. This means it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

3. How do we obtain your personal data?

Personal data is obtained in the following ways:

  • Through the filling out of “Hello” cards, which are available at our meetings and are frequently available when the church is carrying out activities in public.

  • By providing data through the online portal.

  • Through signing up for an event online.

  • When children are registered for the first time in kids activities.

  • Other forms (such as the giving financially / gift aid form).

  • When a person contacts a small group leader.

  • When a person contacts The Potteries Vineyard Church through The Potteries Vineyard Church contact details, which are available online.

  • When photos are taken at an event or group run by The Potteries Vineyard Church, we will always notify you that photos are being taken.

4. How do we process your personal data?

The Potteries Vineyard Church complies with its obligations under the “GDPR” by keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

We use your personal data for the following purposes: -

  • To keep you informed of news and events which are relevant to you; 

  • To connect people with key leaders in the church for pastoral support;

  • To manage our employees and volunteers, including those who serve on a team on a Sunday; 

  • To maintain our own accounts and records (including the processing of gift aid applications);

  • If you are a parent / guardian and you wish to sign children into Kids activities, we collect your personal data to comply with our child protection policy, and ensure that we can contact you during the week if we need to.

5. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

  • Your data is processed by us on the basis of legitimate interest, where your data is only used by us in ways you might reasonably expect us to use it, and only when necessary to further our mission to serve both you and the wider community. This includes being able to contact you to inform you of events and services; processing donations (where applicable); enlisting help for events and ministries; managing our staff and volunteers; enabling ministries to contact you (where appropriate); for pastoral care, and; for safeguarding and health monitoring purposes. We do not share your information with third parties who are not necessary to the services we provide.

  • By completing and returning a “Hello” card, you express your consent to The Potteries Vineyard Church storing your information. Completion of a “Hello” card is not necessary for participation in church activities, and serves no other purpose than for you to provide us with your information.

  • When signing up for an event online, your details will be solely used to contact you regarding the event, and removed following the event, unless you clearly indicate that you wish us to store your contact details for future use (for example some online sign up forms include a tick box indicating that you wish to be added to our contact database).

  • Processing is carried out through the database management platform used by The Potteries Vineyard Church, known as “ChurchSuite”. ChurchSuite carries out the role as the Data Processor for The Potteries Vineyard Church.

  • Upon being entered into The Potteries Vineyard Church database, ChurchSuite will send you an email detailing the purposes for which The Potteries Vineyard Church has collected your information and how you may request to be removed from The Potteries Vineyard Church database.

  • If an email address is not provided, a request to be removed can be made through contacting The Potteries Vineyard Church. Contact details are found on The Potteries Vineyard Church website. 

  • Where photos do or may constitute personal data they are stored securely and used only for our legitimate interests, as indicated to you at the time of photos being taken.

6. Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with leaders within the church in order to carry out a service to other church members (e.g. for a ministry team) or for purposes connected with the church. Your data will only be shared more widely than this if you have given your consent for it to be shared. Employees and Volunteer Leaders are trained on the The Potteries Vineyard Church data protection policy.

7. How long do we keep your personal data?

We usually keep your data for as long as you are a member of the church, or until you request to have your data removed. Some data, such as registration details of children that have been signed into kids activities, needs to be kept longer as per child protection law, and would not be removed following a request to be removed from the database.

8. Your rights and your personal data  

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: -

  • The right to request a copy of your personal data which The Potteries Vineyard Church holds about you; 

  • The right to request that The Potteries Vineyard Church corrects any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;  

  • The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for The Potteries Vineyard Church to retain such data;

  • The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time

  • The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;

  • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.

9. Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

10. Contact Details

To exercise all relevant rights, queries of complaints please in the first instance contact us via the relevant channels. You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.

You can contact The Potteries Vineyard Church:

t: 07739 814246

e: hello@thepotteriesvineyard.church

a: c/o 8 Spratslade Drive, Stoke-on-Trent, ST3 4DZ

PRIVACY POLICY