Privacy policy

At Action for Children, we're honest, we're analytical, we're straightforward - it's part of our values.

We apply these values to everything we d - including how we treat your personal information.

Your ongoing support is invaluable to us. Without it, we cannot continue to help the hundreds of thousands of children, young people, and families we reach every year, across the UK.

To keep your support, we know we need to earn your trust, so we treat your personal information as you'd expect - with respect.

Below is our promise to you - whether you're a supporter, donor, fundraiser, campaigner, volunteer, foster carer, adoptive parent, or someone who uses our services: we've included an outline of how, why, and when we obtain and use your personal information, and how we keep it safe and secure.

We are responsible for protecting your personal information, and we take this responsibility very seriously.

If you have any queries or concerns about how we use your personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer:

By email: [email protected]

By post: Data Protection Officer, Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford, WD18 8AG.

So, we promise…

1. To only collect personal information (or 'data') we need, that information may be about: supporters, donors, fundraisers, event attendees, volunteers, campaigners, foster carers (and/or those who make enquiries), adoptive parents (and/or those who make enquiries), those who use our services, those who use our website and those who request access to our records. Action for Children also, through collaboration with universities or research centres, at times apply for and act as data controller for national data on children such as National Pupil Data in order to analyse the characteristics, pathways and outcomes of children through the care or education system. We may therefore receive anonymised or pseudonymised data that we may use in our research as per point 13 below. Where we receive pseudonymised data we are unable to identify the individual that the information relates to.
2. We - Action for Children - may be the 'data controller' or ‘data processor’ in respect of your personal information depending on the service provided.
3. That we will never ever sell your data to third parties for their own marketing needs.
4. To collect the minimum personal information we need, for example, but not limited to:

• Name
• Age/date of birth
• Gender
• Contact number(s)
• Email address(es)
• Postal address
• Contact preferences
• Information for 'market analysis'
• Records of fundraising events you've attended
• Campaigns you've supported
• Lobbying events you’ve attended
• Historical details relating to your foster or adoptive family (if relevant to you as an individual)
• Record of your contact with us – whether a query, compliment, or complaint
• For our research we may also process data relating to demographic information, education, ethnicity, health and social care.

5. We will use personal data to provide our services and, with regard to marketing, for the following purposes:

• Raise further awareness of Action for Children and the work we do
• Help raise further funds to support children and families across the UK
• Learn how best to contact you (and what about)
• Keep a record of your support
• Some information may be used to help us profile donors to support with our approach to communications
• Progress applications (employment, volunteering, fostering) or any other enquiries
• Learn how to improve our products and services (including through feedback surveys)
• Learn about other audiences who may be interested in supporting the work of Action for Children (and the new products, services, and information they may be interested in).

6. To keep your personal information for only for as long as we need to in accordance with our retention policy.

7. We will only use your personal data to communicate with you where we have a lawful basis to do so.

8. That you can request to access, change, or delete your information at any time.

9. To only share your personal information with carefully selected third party partners, where relevant. This also includes:

• Secure storage
• Business Reporting
• Market analysis (looking at the types of people who engage with us, and why)
• Screening data, so that we don’t send information to an old address, or call an old phone number
• Emailing via our email partners
• Sending printed material (newsletters, updates, magazines, appeals)
• Securely processing Direct Debits
• Looking for prospective supporters, of a similar background, via Facebook
• Securely processing donations from text giving platforms, using selected partners.

But… please be mindful that our website may contain links to and from other websites – partners and affiliates – and they will have their own privacy policies, which we do not accept any responsibility or liability for.

10. Action for Children on occasion carry out research projects with the aim to improve well-being, care and services for children and their families within the UK. Sometimes this is in partnership with other organisations such as research funders or Universities. If Action for Children request the research they are often the Data Controller. Other times where Action for Children just use the information they are the Data Processor. Where AfC works in collaboration with other organisations there may be two or more Data Controllers. In these instances AfC will have agreements in place that outline the responsibilities of all parties. AfC promises to respect the confidentiality and sensitivity of personal information. When conducting research on outcomes where possible AfC collect, use and share anonymised data. The data will be kept in accordance with our data retention schedules. Personal data contained within such datasets will be safeguarded appropriately in order to protect the rights and interests of the data subjects and particular care will be taken with highly sensitive personal data such as gender, ethnicity, or disability, etc. Appropriate safeguards will be in place as follows:

• The research will not cause substantial damage or distress to the data subject (i.e. substantial physical harm, financial loss or psychological pain). It will not be used to make any individual decisions about children.
• The research may also have approval from a research ethics committee.

11. In order to protect personal information and Action for Children’s sensitive data, we will process personal information as part of ensuring network and information security. This is primarily done under the lawful basis of legitimate interest.

1. In the legal sense

Action for Children is a leading UK children's charity, registered in England and Wales (Charity Number: 1097940), and in Scotland (SC038092). We are also a company limited by guaranteed registered in England and Wales (company number: 04764232). Our registered office is at 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 8AG

2. In plain English

Action for Children is a charity supporting children, young people, and families across the UK, every year.

We support them through practical, evidence-based programmes and services, proven to work:

• Helping families stay together
• Supporting children in their early years
• Stepping in early to stop abuse and neglect
• Finding loving foster parents
• Supporting young carers
• Supporting children with disabilities
• Steering young people away from trouble - into training and employment.

And we continue to campaign to change flawed policies – to make life better for children, from the moment they’re born.

We've been supporting children since 1869 - from our humble beginnings as the National Children’s Home to our role as Action for Children; protecting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children and young people, right across the country.

In that time, we’ve worked with thousands of supporters, donors, campaigners, volunteers, foster and adoptive parents, and we continue to do so - as Action for Children.

We couldn’t do what we do without you. Thank you for helping so many children.

We will only ever use the information you provide, in our https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/contact-us/online form, for:

• Sending you information about fostering
• Contacting you follow-up calls
• Market analysis

When we say 'market analysis’, we're simply looking to learn more about the types of people who might be interested in fostering, and we’ll always use minimal personal details when doing this.

However, you can contact us, at any time, to object to the use of your information for market analysis.

You can also withdraw your initial application, if you do not wish to go ahead and foster.

In terms of securely storing your information, this is done through our partners, SCN (Social Care Network), who manage a system called Charms on our behalf.

We only keep your information for as long as we need. If you decide to progress your enquiry to become a foster carer, then the length of time your information is held changes and is determined by law.

If you currently access or have accessed one of the services that we provide, we may process personal information about you and your family.

For some of our services, we are the data controller for the data we collect and hold about you.

In other cases, we are acting as data processor on behalf of another organisation (e.g. your local council) who will be the data controller.

If you receive support from one of our services, you should be provided with privacy information specific to that service.

The following is a general summary of how our services process personal data. If you have questions about a specific service, you can contact the service directly, or you can get in touch with us through our contact us page.

Action for Children does not have an obligation to provide records for this purpose but where they are able to assist in providing records to relatives where service users are no longer living, we may collect the following data to process your request:

• Name and email address
• Identification documents to link you to the individual and a copy of their death certificate
• Anything else that may be required to provide the service to you

Action for Children will only keep your data for as long as we need to.

When you support us through campaigning activities, such as asking the government to change policies that affect children and young people, we will collect and use the information you provide.

Where we have your consent, we use your information to:

• Send you information about our campaigns and campaigning activities.
• Keep you updated on campaigns you have supported.
• Ask you for further support with our campaigns and related activities - this includes contacting you and asking if you would like to be part of groups to help support our campaigns.
• Ask you to attend events related to our campaigns.
• Contact you about fundraising and volunteering opportunities.

We may also process your information where it is in our legitimate interests to do so. For example, to:

• Keep records of our communications with you, including information we send to you and any enquiries, feedback or complaints you make.
• Maintain records of your support for our campaigns.
• Better understand the people who support Action for Children.
• Identify and engage other people who may be interested in supporting our work.
• Develop and improve our services, campaigns and communications.

We may share limited information with third-party partners who help us communicate with you about Action for Children campaigns, appeals, events and services.

You can withdraw your consent at any time or object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests. You can also ask us to update or correct your information.

Please see the Your Rights section below for more information.

When you support our work by fundraising; taking part in an Action for Children event (such as Spring Ladies Lunch or the Giant Wiggle); raising funds for us via a third party event (like the  London Marathon); making a donation via a third party platform for example Facebook, donating your own money or money raised by a group; or choosing to leave a gift in your will, we’ll collect the information you provide and only use it to:

• Keep a record of your support;
• Keep a record of your preferred method of contact (phone, email, post, SMS);
• Send you relevant information about our work, including campaigns or fundraising events;
• Ask for further support;
• Note fundraising events you’ve taken part in;
• Keep records of our contact with you - updates or information we send, and any enquiries or complaints you make;
• Keep information about donations and Gift Aid, to comply with HMRC requirements.

We may carefully use some of your personal information for our legitimate interests - fully encrypted - to help us in:

• Understanding the types of people who support Action for Children;
• Finding new supporters of a similar background or age group;
• Developing new products and services;
• Understanding how we can improve existing products and services;
• Advertising those products and services to people with similar interests to you.

In certain cases, where appropriate, we may share encrypted versions of your personal data (such as email addresses) with trusted advertising partners like Meta or Google. This helps us create custom audiences to share relevant updates or appeals with our existing supporters through those platforms. You should have control over your preferences about direct marketing with each social media platform, please review the settings on your social media accounts should you wish to update your preferences.

We may share limited information about you with our third party partners, but this will only be so that we can contact you in relation to Action for Children campaigns, appeals, or upcoming events.

As mentioned, these partner organisations can only act on our instructions.

We keep information about donations and Gift Aid for 6 years, to comply with HMRC requirements.

And, if you’d rather this information wasn't shared, you can ask to have it changed, withdraw your consent, or object to it being used to help us (in our legitimate interests), at any time. See Your rights for more details.

We use tools that scan the internet and social media sites to collect and analyse information individuals publish online about Action for Children and relevant issues so that we can plan our campaigning and fundraising strategically.

Communications:

We will use Legitimate Interests to contact you via Post and by phone if you are not registered with the Telephone Preference Service. This is aligned with the PECR law of 2003. You have the right to object to this and update your preference by calling 0300 123 2112 or by emailing [email protected].

Action for Children is the data controller for the information you provide during the process unless otherwise stated. If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information, please contact us at [email protected].

Action for Children is the data controller for the information you provide for the purposes of your application for employment/volunteering with Action for Children/ Action for Children Developments Ltd (t/a “Spring Nurseries”). If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information, please contact us at [email protected]

We are grateful for every single penny we receive from our supporters - every penny that goes towards changing children’s lives for the better.

But we want to ensure that what we ask of our supporters is fair, reasonable, and relevant, to them.

For this reason, we do something called 'profiling'.

It's standard practice across the charity sector, and simply means we look at your personal information - your background - and consider what’s appropriate to ask of you, or send to you.

We do this manually, by looking at information that you’ve given us, or information that’s publicly available - for example, on social media and other public sources.

It means we can tailor communications so that they are relevant (perhaps in relation to one of our services in your area), timely, and respectful - only asking for donations that are within a supporter’s means, or appropriate for those who may be able/willing to give more than they already do.

It also enables us to identify those who are in the fortunate position of being able to help us fund entire projects or services, and whether they would like to meet us to develop a more personal relationship and/or discuss future opportunities to support our work in helping children.

In turn, this approach means we can raise funds sooner, and more cost-effectively - something we know to be of great importance to our supporters.

If you would rather your personal information is not used for the purposes of profiling, please contact us using the details in the Your rights section of this policy.

We may share your personal data with government bodies, law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities, such as the Charity Commission, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HMRC and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), HSE, where required by law or in connection with official investigations, audits or legal claims.

We may process personal data to help us meet our health and safety obligations and protect the wellbeing of individuals who use or visit our services and sites. This may include carrying out risk assessments for visitors to our sites and maintaining care plans for service users, which may contain health and safety information.

We may also process personal data to record, investigate, report and manage health and safety incidents, accidents, concerns and safeguarding matters. This helps us to comply with legal requirements, improve safety, and ensure appropriate support is provided where needed.

If you want to request information about our privacy policy or to make a complaint you can email us or write to:

Information Governance Team, Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford, WD18 8AG or email [email protected]

If you are not satisfied with the way Action for Children has dealt with a data protection complaint, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you are based in Guernsey, you should contact the Office of the Data Protection Authority at Home · ODPA.

Action for Children is a leading children's charity. During the process of lodging a civil claim against Action for Children and group companies, (for ease of reference hereinafter called "the Company"), the Company will collect, use and hold ("process") your personal data. Read more about this below.

You have the right to:

• Ask what information we hold about you - and be given that information;
• Ask us to correct, change, or update any information we hold about you;
• Withdraw your consent for us to use your information;
• Ask us to delete your information entirely;
• Ask any other question in relation to your information.

In relation to fundraising, legacies, donations or campaigns, you have the right to:

• Opt out of communications;
• Object to your data being processed by us (for legitimate interests) - for market research/analysis purposes.

The above rights do not apply in all circumstances, and this will be explained when you make the request. You can make a request by contacting the Supporter Care team on 0300 123 2112, clicking on the link above or by emailing us: [email protected]. You can also write to us using the address below.

Complaints

You may complain to us if you are unhappy about the way Action for Children has processed your personal data. For example, you:

• are unhappy with your response to a subject access request (SAR), or other rights request.
• have been impacted by a data breach, regardless of whether it’s reportable to the ICO.
• are unhappy about the way Action for Children used your personal information.

If you wish to complain, please email [email protected] or contact our Supporter Care team on 0300 123 2112.

You can also write to us at:

Action for Children,
3 The Boulevard,
Ascot Road,
Watford
WD18 8AG.

You can find out more about your rights by visiting the regulators’ guidance pages available to the public:

· ICO (UK) guidance on data subject rights

· ODPA (Guernsey) guidance

Our Privacy Policy is reviewed, and may be updated, based on certain requirements.

With that in mind, you are advised to revisit the policy for the most up-to-date information.

This policy was last reviewed on 9 March 2026.