Privacy policy
How we look after your information, and the information of the children who take part in Star Chasers.
Draft, pending legal review. Last updated 14 November 2026.
Who we are
The Children’s Space Trust is being set up as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) in England and Wales. Once registered, our charity number and registered address will appear here. We are the controller of the personal information described in this policy, and we will register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
For any question about your information, contact our data protection lead, Fennar Ralston, at hello@childrensspacetrust.org.
This policy follows the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
Our promise about children
We work with children in hospitals and hospices, so we have set Star Chasers up to collect as little about them as possible.
- We don’t collect children’s health information. We don’t ask why a child is in hospital, and we keep no medical details of any kind.
- Children’s personal information stays with the hospital or hospice, which is responsible for it under its own privacy notice.
- For their mission, each child chooses a place on Earth to be photographed. We only need the place. We never ask for or use a home address.
- Patches, flight logs and photos are sent to the play team, not to named children.
- We never use children’s information for marketing or fundraising, and we never sell anyone’s information.
- This website is not aimed at children, and we don’t knowingly collect information from children through it.
Mission School video sessions
Sessions are arranged with hospital play teams, and hospital staff are always present with the children.
- Children join through the hospital’s own screens and accounts. We don’t need children’s names, email addresses or contact details.
- Children can keep their camera off and ask questions through the play team. If a child is on camera or speaks, we may see and hear them during the session, but we keep nothing afterwards.
- We don’t record sessions, take screenshots or publish images of children unless the hospital and the child’s parent or carer have given written consent for a specific use. A child’s own wishes are respected too, and anyone can withdraw consent at any time.
- Sessions run on a video platform that processes call data on our behalf under its own terms. We will name it here once chosen.
- For volunteer engineers, we keep their name, employer, contact details, safeguarding checks and the sessions they joined, so we can organise sessions and keep them safe.
Information we collect from adults
| Who | What we collect | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donors | Name, contact details, amount and date of gift, Gift Aid declaration and home address | To process your gift, claim Gift Aid and thank you | Contract; legal obligation (Gift Aid records) |
| Fundraisers and event organisers | Name, organisation, contact details, event details, money raised | To support your event and tell you what it paid for | Legitimate interests |
| Hospital staff | Name, job title, hospital, work contact details | To arrange sessions and deliveries | Legitimate interests |
| Volunteers, partners and trustees | Name, employer, contact details, and DBS checks where needed | To run sessions safely and govern the charity | Legitimate interests; legal obligation; for criminal records checks, the conditions in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 |
| People who ask for updates | Name, email address | To send the updates you asked for | Consent |
| Website visitors | None. See cookies. | – | – |
Marketing
We only send emails about our work if you’ve asked for them, or if you’re an existing supporter and we’ve given you an easy way to opt out. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying or emailing us. We don’t carry out wealth screening.
Who we share information with
Only when we need to, with:
- services that help us run the charity, such as email, cloud storage, video calls and online giving, under contracts that protect your information;
- HMRC, to claim Gift Aid;
- hospitals and hospices, to arrange sessions and deliveries;
- regulators, police or other authorities where the law requires it, or where we need to protect a child or adult from harm.
Some providers may store information outside the UK. Where they do, we make sure proper safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or the ICO’s International Data Transfer Agreement.
How long we keep information
- Donation and Gift Aid records: six years after the end of the financial year they relate to, as HMRC requires.
- Fundraiser and hospital contacts: two years after our last contact, unless we’re still working together.
- Safeguarding records: as long as our safeguarding policy and the law require.
- Marketing preferences: until you unsubscribe. We keep a note that you opted out so we don’t contact you again.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct or delete it, restrict or object to how we use it, move it to another organisation, or withdraw consent at any time. A parent or carer can make a request on behalf of a child. Email hello@childrensspacetrust.org and we’ll reply within one month.
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve used your information, please tell us first. You can also complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes
We may update this policy. The latest version will always be on this page.