The Bereavement Café Privacy and Cookie Policy
Legal
Privacy & Cookie Policy
Effective date: 17 April 2026 | Last reviewed: 17 April 2026
Who we are
The Bereavement Café CIC (company number 14004905) is a Community Interest Company providing peer-to-peer grief support, community café spaces, Grief Recovery support and bereavement training for individuals, schools and businesses. For the purposes of UK data protection law, The Bereavement Café CIC is the data controller responsible for the personal information collected through this website and in the course of our activities.
What information we collect
Community Café registrations and attendees
When you register to attend one of our Community Cafés, we collect your name and contact details. This information is used to confirm your place, send you details of upcoming sessions and maintain a record of attendance. You are never required to share the nature of your loss or any personal details about your bereavement — what you choose to share within a Café session is yours to decide.
Grief Recovery support
Where you engage with our Certified Grief Recovery Specialist for one-to-one or group support, we may hold additional information relevant to your support journey. This is treated with the highest level of confidentiality and is never shared beyond what is strictly necessary for the delivery of your support.
Business and workplace training enquiries
When an organisation enquires about our training services, we collect the name and contact details of the relevant individual and details of their organisation. This information is used to respond to enquiries, deliver training and maintain our client relationship.
School and education enquiries
When a school or educational setting contacts us about training or Youth Café support, we collect the name and contact details of the relevant member of staff. Any involvement of children or young people in our Youth Cafés is handled through the school or setting, and is subject to their own safeguarding and data protection arrangements.
Volunteers
We hold names, contact details and relevant information about our volunteers to coordinate activities, communicate updates and support our volunteer community. Volunteer data is handled with the same care as all other personal information.
Website enquiries and newsletter sign-ups
When you contact us through our website or sign up for updates about our Cafés and services, we collect the information you provide. You can unsubscribe from any mailing list at any time using the link in any email we send or by contacting us directly.
Information collected automatically
When you visit thebereavementcafe.co.uk, standard technical information may be collected automatically, including your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit. This is collected via cookies — see the Cookie section below.
Sensitive personal data
Sensitive data
The nature of our work means that people who engage with us may share information that relates to their mental health, emotional wellbeing or personal circumstances surrounding bereavement. This type of information is treated as sensitive personal data under UK GDPR.
We only hold sensitive personal data where it is necessary to deliver appropriate support, and only with the individual’s knowledge and consent. It is never shared without explicit permission, except in circumstances where there is a serious and immediate risk to the safety of the individual or others — in which case our safeguarding obligations take precedence.
We never ask for or record more personal or sensitive information than is genuinely needed. You are always in control of what you choose to share with us.
Children and Youth Cafés
Children’s data
Our Youth Cafés operate within school environments and are delivered in partnership with schools and educational settings. We do not collect personal data directly from children. Any data relating to young people participating in Youth Cafés is handled through the relevant school or setting, which acts as the primary data controller for its pupils.
Where we hold any information relating to a young person, this is done with the knowledge of the school and in accordance with our safeguarding policy. We never contact children directly and never hold their personal data beyond what is strictly necessary for the delivery of the Youth Café.
How we use your information
- To confirm Café registrations and send details of upcoming sessions
- To deliver Grief Recovery support and follow up appropriately
- To respond to training enquiries and deliver workplace and school programmes
- To communicate with volunteers and coordinate their involvement
- To send news and updates about our services, where you have agreed to receive them
- To meet our safeguarding, legal and regulatory obligations
- To improve our website and the way we deliver our services
Our legal basis for processing
- Legitimate interests — to manage Café registrations, communicate with attendees and volunteers, and promote our services
- Contract performance — to deliver training and support services engaged by individuals or organisations
- Legal obligation — to meet our safeguarding and regulatory obligations
- Vital interests — in exceptional circumstances where the safety or welfare of an individual is at risk
- Explicit consent — for sensitive personal data relating to mental health, wellbeing or personal bereavement circumstances
How long we keep your data
- Café registration and attendance data — up to 2 years
- Grief Recovery support records — for the duration of the support relationship and up to 3 years after it ends
- Training and business client records — up to 6 years
- Volunteer records — for the duration of the volunteer relationship and up to 2 years after it ends
- Newsletter and marketing preferences — until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent
- General enquiry data — up to 2 years
All data is securely deleted once it is no longer needed.
Who we share your information with
We do not sell personal data and we do not share it lightly. We may share it only where strictly necessary:
- With schools or educational settings, in connection with Youth Café delivery
- With statutory agencies such as social services, where our safeguarding obligations require it
- With trusted IT and administrative service providers, under appropriate data processing agreements
- With authorities or regulators, where required by law
We do not transfer personal data outside the UK.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help the site work properly and allow us to understand how visitors use it.
| Type | Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Needed for the website to function correctly | Session management, security |
| Analytics | Help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it | Google Analytics (anonymised) |
| Marketing | Used to show relevant content or measure the effectiveness of communications | Third-party tracking (where used) |
You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Essential cookies cannot be turned off as they are required for the site to function.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to access, correct, delete or restrict how we use your personal data, to object to processing based on legitimate interests, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time where consent is our legal basis. You also have the right to complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Please note that some rights may be limited where data is held for safeguarding or legal purposes. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via our website. We will respond within one calendar month.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the date at the top of this page.