Privacy Policy தனியுரிமைக் கொள்கை

Who we are நாம் யார்

Southend Tamil Association is a registered charity (a charitable incorporated organisation, number 1189156). We run the STA Tamil School and cultural and community activities in Southend-on-Sea. The charity is responsible for your personal information (the “data controller”), and our trustees and committee look after it on the charity’s behalf.

For any question about your information, please contact the Secretary: essextamils@gmail.com, 07572 270722, or write to Southend Tamil Association, 181 West Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex SS0 9DH. We do not have a data protection officer; the Secretary deals with these questions.

Data protection law (UK GDPR) தரவுப் பாதுகாப்புச் சட்டம் (UK GDPR)

We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. In line with these laws we:

• collect only the information we need, for a clear purpose, and use it fairly, lawfully and openly;
• keep it accurate, and only for as long as we need it;
• keep it secure, so that only the people who need it can see it;
• tell the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours if a data breach puts people at risk, and tell you directly if it puts you at high risk;
• respect your rights under the UK GDPR, which are listed below.

What we collect நாம் சேகரிப்பவை

We collect only what we need. Most of it comes from you; pupils’ details come from their parents or guardians.

• Members: name, date of birth, membership number, phone number, email address, home address, membership type and how you pay, the family members who join with you (name, relationship and age), whether you want to join our WhatsApp group, your choice about photos and videos, the fees and donations you have paid, and any positions you hold in STA.
• Website accounts: username, name, email address and password (stored only in scrambled form), your positions, and a record of approvals and changes made by the President, the Secretary or a website administrator.
• Tamil School: the pupil’s name, date of birth and school year, the subjects chosen, the parent or guardian’s name, address, phone number and email, an emergency contact, your choice about photos and videos, your declaration, attendance, exam entries and results.
• Teachers and volunteers: name, contact details and address, teaching experience, whether you have a DBS check and safeguarding training, your choice about photos and videos, and your declarations.
• Messages: what you send us through the contact form, by email, by phone or on WhatsApp.
• Photos and videos taken at our school and events.

You do not have to give us your information, but we cannot register a member, accept a pupil or approve a website account without the details that the forms mark as required.

Why we use it நாம் ஏன் பயன்படுத்துகின்றோம்

• Membership: keeping the register of members, collecting fees, holding meetings and elections, and giving members access to the Members Area. Lawful basis: our membership agreement with you under the STA constitution.
• Tamil School: admissions, classes, contacting parents, emergencies, exams and keeping children safe. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (running the school you asked us to provide) and our legal duties to protect children.
• Teachers and volunteers: recruiting and supporting them, including DBS and safeguarding checks. Lawful basis: legitimate interests and our safeguarding duties.
• Accounts: keeping financial records and meeting charity and tax rules. Lawful basis: legal obligation.
• News and events: telling members and families about events and news by email, phone or WhatsApp. Lawful basis: legitimate interests – you can ask us to stop at any time.
• Photos and videos: showing our events on this website and on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok pages. Lawful basis: consent for pictures of children and close-up pictures of individuals; legitimate interests for general pictures of public events. You can withdraw consent or object at any time.
• This website: running it and keeping it safe. Lawful basis: legitimate interests.

We do not make decisions about you by automated means.

Who can see it யார் பார்க்க முடியும்

• Only the people in STA who need it for their role.
• On this website, the President, the Secretary and website administrators approve members, give them their positions and decide which pages and document folders each group can open (members, teachers, Head Teacher, school admin, committee, trustees and Treasurer).
• The members register, with contact details and payments, can be seen only by the President, the Secretary and website administrators.
• Teachers and the school team see the details of the pupils in their care.
• We never sell your information or pass it to others for their marketing.

Companies that help us எமக்கு உதவும் நிறுவனங்கள்

These companies store or send information for us and may only use it on our instructions:

• Hostinger, our website host, arranged and supported by our IT provider TechMate360.
• SMTP2GO, which delivers the emails sent by this website.
• Google (Gmail, Google Drive, Forms and Sheets), for our email, records and application forms.
• WhatsApp (Meta), for our WhatsApp groups.

Some of these companies keep information outside the UK, for example in the European Union or the United States. Where they do, the transfer is protected by UK adequacy rules or approved contract terms.

We also share information when the law requires it, with an exam board when a pupil is entered for an external exam, or in an emergency to protect someone.

Photo and video sharing புகைப்படங்களையும் காணொளிகளையும் பகிர்தல்

We take photos and videos at the Tamil School and at our events to celebrate our community and keep a record of the association’s history.

• Where we share them: on this website, on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok pages and in our WhatsApp groups; now and then also with a local newspaper or with an organisation that funded or supported the event.
• Children: we share close-up photos or videos of a child only if a parent or guardian has said yes on our admission or membership form. We do not show a child’s full name with their picture without the parent’s agreement, and never their address or day school.
• Adults: we ask before we share a close-up photo of you; general photos of an event or a crowd may be shared without asking.
• If you would rather not be photographed, tell the organisers or the person taking photos at the event, and we will do our best to leave you out of the pictures we share.
• Your own photos: at our events, please take photos of your own family, and do not post pictures of other people’s children online or in WhatsApp groups without their parents’ agreement.
• Taking a photo down: if you want a photo or video of you or your child removed from our website or our social media pages, contact the Secretary and we will remove it as soon as we can. We cannot recall copies that other people have already saved or shared.

WhatsApp groups WhatsApp குழுக்கள்

Everyone in a WhatsApp group can see the phone numbers of the other people in that group. Please do not share other people’s numbers, messages or photos from a group without their agreement. If you would rather not be in a group, tell us and we will keep you informed another way.

How long we keep it எவ்வளவு காலம் வைத்திருப்போம்

• Membership and financial records: while you are a member and for 6 years after, as charity and tax rules require.
• Website accounts: until you leave or ask us to close your account.
• Tamil School records: while the pupil attends and for 2 years after they leave; forms for children who do not join: 1 year.
• Teacher and volunteer applications: 6 months if you do not join; while you help us and for 6 years after if you do. Copies of DBS certificates are not kept for more than 6 months.
• Messages: up to 2 years.
• Photos and videos: as part of the history of the association, unless you ask us to remove one.

Your rights உங்கள் உரிமைகள்

You can ask us to:

• show you the information we hold about you;
• correct anything that is wrong or incomplete;
• delete your information, or limit how we use it;
• stop using it for something you object to, including messages about events;
• give you the information you provided in a format you can reuse.

Where we rely on your consent, such as for photos of your child, you can withdraw it at any time. Parents and guardians can use these rights for younger children. We reply within one month and there is no charge.

Complaints முறைப்பாடுகள்

If you are unhappy with how we have used your information, please tell the Secretary first, by email, phone or post (details above). We will confirm that we have received your complaint within 30 days, look into it and tell you the outcome.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.

Cookies and this website குக்கீகளும் இந்த இணையத்தளமும்

When you log in, the website uses cookies to keep you signed in. If you close a pop-up, a small cookie stops it appearing again, and your choice of English or தமிழ் is saved in your browser. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

Our pages load fonts from Google Fonts, so your browser connects to Google. Videos on our pages come from YouTube in privacy-enhanced mode.

Changes to this policy இந்தக் கொள்கையில் மாற்றங்கள்

We will update this policy when our work changes and tell members about important changes.