Accessing your records

Accessing your Spurgeons and Fegans records

Over the 150 years since Spurgeons was established, we have helped thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families to improve their lives. If you or a relative have been helped by us and you are looking to access the information we hold, read on.

Our records and data protection

Data Protection Act (2018) and GDPR

Our data is managed in accordance to the Data Protection Act (2018), which means we can only disclose information to the person about whom it was written. You can view our latest guidance in our Privacy Notice.

We are not legally obliged to provide family history information to relatives and descendants. However, we feel strongly that we have a moral obligation to share information with descendants whose lives may have been significantly affected by the fact their relative was helped by us.

Consent

Because of the above, we require signed consent from either the person named in the records themselves, or their nearest surviving relative if the person is deceased.

Researching our archive

We can only provide information about you or your nearest surviving relative. We cannot include any information about brothers and/or sisters who may have been at Spurgeons at the same time. This information is confidential to them and can only be provided to you with their consent or that of their nearest surviving relative.

Support

Reading your records and your family circumstances may prove painful and upsetting. We feel many events and decisions of the past need to be understood in the context of the child care standards and social conditions of the time.

It concerns us that in sending information in the post to you we are unable to provide either emotional support or explanation of the facts. We ask you, therefore, to think carefully about who will support you when you read the information we send.

Elderly relatives

If you are enquiring on behalf of an elderly relative, we would like to know if you can be there to support them when they receive their information, and whether, after you have left, they will have someone nearby to talk things over with, if they need to.

Other sources

If you were in our care after 1979, your records may also be held by your local authority. To obtain these records please approach them directly. See Directgov for contact details.

The Care Leavers’ Association provides advice and information for those who have been in care and for young people currently in, or leaving, care. To find out more about your right to access your care records, please contact the Care Leavers’ Association.