Privacy Policy / GDPR

Privacy Policy

The Southend Festival of Performing Arts takes great care to preserve your privacy and safeguard any personal data you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use your personal data.

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time and update where necessary, so please check regularly to ensure that you are happy with any changes. The most up to date version will be available on our website

Who we are

Southend Festival of Performing Arts is a ‘not for profit’ organisation which hosts an annual competitive festival for all ages and abilities. Our registered Charity Number is 283503 and we are affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals. In this capacity we are the ‘controller’ of the personal data you provide to us. We have defined and made available our Privacy Policy in order to comply with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) effective from 25th May 2018.

What personal data do we collect?

We may collect personal data from you such as:-

  • Your name

  • Your address

  • Your date of birth

  • Your telephone number (mobile and/or landline)

  • Your email address

  • Name of the entrant’s responsible teacher

  • The authorising Parent or Guardian

How do we use your personal data?

We will use your personal data in a number of ways which may include:

  • Processing your entry form to take part in the festival - Submitting an entry form constitutes acceptance of this practice.

  • Keeping you updated about your entry to the festival.

  • Sending you copies of our syllabus

  • Keeping you updated about future festivals

  • Processing any applications for a volunteering role within the festival

  • Processing any donations made to us.

  • Including your name in our printed programme (You should also understand that, by applying to enter the Competition, you are giving your consent for your name to appear in our programme)

  • Managing any orders for publications or other materials from us

  • Processing your application to be involved in our governance such as becoming a member of our Committee

  • Responding to a general enquiry made to us.

  • Dealing with a complaint or concern raised to us

  • Including your photo or name on our website or social media (specific consent required - You should understand that, if someone decides to share a photo from our website on social media, that is not a matter which is under our control)

All personal data shared with us will be held securely and used only by the SMF committee, solely for the purposes of Festival administration. No third parties will have access to your personal data and it will never be shared with any third party, unless there is a legal obligation for us to provide it. We do not buy any personal data.

Only names (no contact details) are printed in our syllabus and programme.

If you are not involved in the festival, then we will only use your personal data to deal with the issue or enquiry that you have raised directly with us.

If you have made a Gift Aid declaration, we may need to disclose the information you have provided as part of the Gift Aid declaration to HMRC for the purpose of reclaiming Gift Aid on your donation(s).

Information collected in the entry system is held by us via the Play and Perform platform. Data collected directly from this site is held with MailChimp.

How do you keep my information secure?

We have implemented appropriate measures to protect the personal data from improper access, use, alteration, destruction and loss.

Our website may contain links to other sites. While we try to link only to sites that share our high standards and respect for privacy, we are not responsible for the content or the privacy practices employed by other sites. They may have their own privacy policies and we encourage you to look at those policies or contact the website operators directly to understand how your personal data is used.

Your rights and responsibilities

You have various rights in respect of the personal data we hold about you. You have the right to request that your data is amended or deleted at any time. You also have the responsibility for ensuring the data Southend Festival of Performing Arts holds about you is accurate and current. In either case, any queries should be directed to Honorary General Secretary. More details about your rights can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.ico.org.uk

How long do you keep my information for?

Your personal data will not be retained by the festival for longer than necessary in relation to the purposes for which it was originally collected, Unless you have agreed to subscribe, we will retain personal data as set out below

Entrant records are destroyed 12 months after the completion of the Festival.

Trophy winners’ details will be retained until the trophies are returned safely to the festival.

Volunteers with the festival for 12 months following the end of your volunteering with us.

Legacies, gifts or donations for 12 months after the legacy/donation or gift is received or has been used in full, whichever is the longer period.

We will retain copies of Festival Programmes indefinitely for archival purposes.

We are legally required to hold some personal data to fulfil statutory obligations, for example, the collection and reporting of Gift Aid to HMRC, or to support certain financial transactions.