Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable adults

At St Matthews we take it very seriously that we must be a safe and welcoming place for all. We ensure that all engaged with children and vulnerable people have the required DBS certification and training.   The PCC have adopted the House of Bishops ‘Promoting a safer church: Safeguarding policy statement’

We believe that:
– everyone should be treated with dignity and respect
– the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, is paramount
– we need to be transparent and open in all that we do
– we all take responsibility for the care and protection of the children, young people and adults involved in our church activities.

If you see or know something that concerns you, please share it with our clergy, nominated Safeguarding Officers or Church Wardens.

Priest-in-Charge:   the Rev Dr. Joel Love

Parish Safeguarding Officer and Churchwarden:   Helen Cooper   hcooper8@sky.com  07745 420055

Churchwarden:   Alison Robinson   ursarob@talktalk.net

Diocesan Safeguarding Team: Diocese of Rochester, St. Nicholas Church, Boley Hill, Rochester, ME1 1SL. 01634 560000

https://www.rochester.anglican.org/safeguarding?tagid=

https://www.rochester.anglican.org/for-parishes/safeguarding/i-am-a-victimsurvivor/

Privacy

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Privacy laws in the UK changed on 25th May 2018.

The new General Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you more control over how your personal information is used and makes it easier for you to check and update any information we hold about you.

As far as St Matthews is concerned, any information we hold will, in the main, amount only to contact details such as your name, address, phone numbers and email address.  By keeping your details up to date, we can keep you informed of church activities and information which may be of interest or useful to you.  We will ask your permission before we hold your personal information.

We make sure that we use and store your data safely and securely.  Information is held only by church members having a legitimate need to do so, for example, but not exclusively, convenors of church groups, Messy Church leaders, those visiting or doing administration for baptisms and funerals and weddings, the Church electoral roll officer, and those preparing duty rotas.

Your information is held only on password-protected computers, or hard copy information in a locked filing cabinet, by authorised individuals.

All personal information will be kept for church use only and will not, in any circumstances, be passed to third parties. Your information will be erased as soon as it becomes redundant, no longer relevant or out of date.

GDPR gives you a number of legal rights to control what we do with your information.  For example, you can ask us to tell you what information we have about you, correct or update information that is wrong, or ask us to stop using your information.

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure with us, remains confidential and accurate, and is used only for the purposes of ensuring better communication between the church and those we serve.

ELECTORAL ROLL PRIVACY NOTICE

Who are we?

The Parochial Church Council of St. Matthew’s Church, Borstal is the data controller (contact details below).  This means it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

Why do we process your personal data?

We use the personal data you provide on the electoral roll application form to enable us to manage, maintain and publish the electoral roll in accordance with Church Representation Rules (CRR) to:

• determine eligibility for attendance and participation at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting and for election to the Parochial Church Council, deanery, diocesan and general synods where applicable;
• calculate the number of representatives who may be elected to each of these synods in the following year;
• undertake a review and revision of the electoral roll as necessary; and
• publish your name and address, by exhibiting the roll in the parish church or the church website.

What is the lawful basis for processing your personal data?

1. Processing for the purpose of determining eligibility, creating the electoral roll and use of the roll to calculate numbers for election to synod is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation. The processing is a statutory requirement imposed by the Church Representation Rules, which means that you must give us this information if you want to be included on the electoral roll.
2. Processing for the purpose of determining eligibility and creating or revising the electoral roll is carried out in the course of our legitimate activities, as this relates solely to members the Church of England in connection with its purposes.
3. Processing for the purpose of publishing the electoral roll relates to personal data which are manifestly made public by the data subject. When you apply to have your name added to the church electoral roll, the automatic legal consequence as stated in the CRR, (Part I Formation of the Roll 1(8) and Revision of Roll and Preparation of New Roll 2(1), 2(3) and 2(7)) is that your name and address will be published, and by submitting your application form you are making that data public.

Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be shared within the institutional Church of England and with the general public.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep your personal data for 6 years after a complete review of the electoral roll.

Your rights and your personal data

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

Contact Details

The Electoral Roll Officer, The Vestry, St. Matthew’s Church, Borstal. Rochester ME1 3HL  01634 847056, stmatthewsborstal@gmail.com

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.

If you would like further information or explanation of any of these points, please contact us:      stmatthewsborstal@gmail.com