POPIA Compliant

Privacy Policy

Effective date: 8 March 2026 · Responsible Party: Education Alive (Pty) Ltd

1. Who We Are

Education Alive (Pty) Ltd ("Education Alive", "we", "us", "our") is the Responsible Party as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"). Our Information Officer is Okoh Dickson, who can be contacted at the details in Section 12.

Education Alive is a co-educational school registered with the South African Department of Education and accredited by UMALUSI, located at the Nelson Mandela Building, 37 Harrison Street, Johannesburg Central, 2000.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information in the following circumstances:

Enquiry & Contact Forms

Name, email address, phone number, child's name and grade, and the content of your message. Collected when you submit an enquiry or contact form on this website.

Admissions Registration

Parent/guardian name, ID number, contact details, child's full name, date of birth, current grade, previous school, and any relevant medical or learning support information.

Student Success Stories

Student name (or chosen display name), grade, photograph, and written story — submitted voluntarily by students or parents/guardians with explicit consent.

Website Analytics

Anonymised usage data (pages visited, time on site, browser type) collected via analytics cookies — only with your consent.

Communications

Records of emails, phone calls, and messages exchanged between you and Education Alive staff.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected:

  • To respond to enquiries and provide information about the school
  • To process enrolment applications and manage the parent-school contract
  • To send follow-up communications related to your enquiry (with your consent)
  • To display approved student success stories on the website (with explicit consent)
  • To comply with our legal obligations to the Department of Education
  • To improve the website and our communications (analytics, with consent)
  • To send school notices, newsletters, and important updates to enrolled families

We will not use your personal information for any purpose incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected without obtaining your further consent.

4. Lawful Basis for Processing (POPIA)

Under POPIA Section 11, we process personal information on the following lawful bases:

Processing ActivityLawful Basis
Responding to enquiriesConsent (Section 11(1)(a))
Enrolment and school administrationContract (Section 11(1)(b))
Department of Education reportingLegal obligation (Section 11(1)(c))
Follow-up email sequenceConsent (Section 11(1)(a))
Publishing success storiesExplicit consent (Section 11(1)(a))
Analytics cookiesConsent (Section 11(1)(a))

5. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. We may share personal information only in the following circumstances:

  • Department of Education: as required by law for registered schools
  • SendGrid (Twilio Inc.): our email delivery provider, used to send transactional and follow-up emails. SendGrid processes data under a Data Processing Agreement compliant with POPIA Section 72 (cross-border transfers)
  • Analytics provider: anonymised, aggregated data only — no personally identifiable information
  • Law enforcement: where required by a court order or applicable law

All third-party processors are contractually bound to process personal information only on our instructions and in accordance with POPIA.

6. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law:

  • Enquiry records: 12 months from the date of enquiry, or until enrolment
  • Enrolled student records: 5 years after the student leaves the school (as required by the South African Schools Act)
  • Success stories: Until you request removal, or until the student leaves the school
  • Analytics data: 26 months (anonymised)

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

  • Right of access (Section 23): Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
  • Right to correction (Section 24): Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
  • Right to deletion (Section 24): Request deletion of personal information we are no longer lawfully entitled to retain
  • Right to object (Section 11(3)): Object to the processing of your personal information
  • Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal
  • Right to complain: Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at the details in Section 12. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

This website uses cookies as described in our Cookie Consent banner. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use three categories of cookies:

  • Strictly necessary: Required for the website to function (session management, security). These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics: Help us understand how visitors use the site. Only used with your consent.
  • Communication & follow-up: Used to personalise follow-up emails after you submit an enquiry. Only used with your explicit consent.

You may change your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Preferences" link in the footer.

9. Security

Education Alive implements appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised access, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

  • HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted via this website
  • Password-protected admin access with role-based permissions
  • Secure cloud storage (Amazon S3) for uploaded files
  • Regular security reviews of our systems and processes

In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to data subjects, we will notify the Information Regulator and affected individuals as required by POPIA Section 22.

10. Children's Privacy

As a school, we necessarily process personal information about children (persons under 18). We do so only:

  • With the explicit consent of a parent or legal guardian
  • For the purpose of providing educational services
  • In compliance with POPIA Section 34 (special personal information — children)

For student success stories featuring children, we require written consent from a parent or legal guardian before publishing any photograph or personal information.

11. Cross-Border Transfers

Some of our service providers (including SendGrid/Twilio) process data outside South Africa. In accordance with POPIA Section 72, we ensure that any cross-border transfer of personal information is subject to adequate protection measures, including contractual obligations equivalent to POPIA standards.

12. Contact & Complaints

For any privacy-related queries, to exercise your rights, or to lodge a complaint, contact our Information Officer:

Address

Nelson Mandela Building, 37 Harrison Street, Johannesburg Central, 2000

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 8 March 2026. We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via a notice on this website. Continued use of the website after such notice constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.