Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose

Pedagy is an educational platform used by schools, teachers, learners, and parents. The platform operates within a school environment that includes minors. This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) exists to ensure that the platform is used responsibly, safely, and in a manner consistent with its educational purpose.

This policy forms part of Pedagy's Terms of Service. By using the platform, all users agree to be bound by this policy.

2. Who This Policy Applies To

• Schools and their authorised administrators;
• Teachers and other school staff with platform access;
• Learners, including minors under the supervision of the school;
• Parents and guardians with access to the parent portal.

Schools are responsible for ensuring that all their users — including learners — are made aware of and agree to comply with this policy.

3. General Rules (All Users)

All users of Pedagy must:

• Use the platform only for its intended educational purpose;
• Treat all other users with respect, dignity, and courtesy;
• Keep their login credentials private and not share passwords with anyone;
• Log out after each session on shared or public devices;
• Report any suspicious activity, security concerns, or inappropriate content to their school administrator or to Pedagy;
• Provide accurate information in their profiles and when using the platform;
• Comply with all applicable South African laws when using the platform.

4. Rules for Schools & Administrators

• Schools must obtain parental consent before enrolling minor learners on the platform;
• Administrators must only create accounts for individuals who have a legitimate need to access the platform;
• Administrators must promptly deactivate or remove accounts when a staff member leaves or a learner exits the school;
• Schools must ensure that their use of the platform complies with POPIA and the Children's Act;
• Administrators must not access learner or parent accounts without a legitimate administrative reason;
• Schools are responsible for the conduct of all their registered users on the platform.

5. Rules for Teachers

• Teachers must only access the academic records of learners in their assigned classes or groups;
• Teachers must use the messaging system only for educational communication;
• Teachers must not contact learners or parents through the platform for personal or commercial purposes;
• All content uploaded by teachers (lessons, assignments, quizzes) must be appropriate, accurate, and aligned with the school curriculum;
• Teachers must not upload copyrighted content to the platform without appropriate authorisation or licence;
• Marks and assessment results entered by teachers must be accurate and must reflect fair assessment of learner performance;
• Teachers must maintain professional communication standards at all times when using the messaging system.

6. Rules for Learners

• Learners must submit their own original work for assignments and quizzes. Plagiarism or academic dishonesty is prohibited;
• Learners must not share quiz questions, assignment content, or answers with other learners in a manner intended to cheat;
• Learners must communicate respectfully with teachers and other users through the messaging system;
• Learners must not attempt to access other learners' accounts, marks, or data;
• Learners must not upload, share, or distribute content that is offensive, harmful, or inappropriate for an educational environment;
• Minor learners must use the platform only under the oversight of their school and with parental awareness.

7. Rules for Parents

• Parents may only view the academic data of their own linked child or children;
• Parents must communicate respectfully with teachers through the messaging system;
• Parents must not attempt to access other users' accounts or data;
• Parents must not use the messaging system for purposes unrelated to their child's education;
• Parents must notify the school if they believe their child's account has been accessed without authorisation.

8. Content Rules

All content uploaded to or shared on the Pedagy platform must:

• Be appropriate for an educational environment that includes minors;
• Not contain nudity, sexual content, graphic violence, or content that promotes self-harm;
• Not contain hate speech, discrimination, or content that demeans any person based on race, gender, religion, disability, or any other characteristic;
• Not infringe any third-party copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights;
• Not contain personal information of individuals who have not consented to its collection and use;
• Be relevant to the educational purpose of the platform.

Pedagy reserves the right to remove any content that violates this policy.

9. Security Rules

All users must:

• Use a strong, unique password for their Pedagy account;
• Change their password immediately if they suspect it has been compromised;
• Not attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Pedagy platform;
• Not introduce malware, viruses, or harmful code into the platform through file uploads or any other means;
• Not attempt to intercept, monitor, or alter communications on the platform;
• Not attempt to circumvent authentication, access controls, or any other security measure.

Suspected security vulnerabilities must be reported responsibly to security@pedagy.co.za and not exploited or publicly disclosed.

10. Prohibited Activities

• Any form of bullying, harassment, or intimidation of any user, particularly of minor learners;
• Grooming, soliciting, or any inappropriate communication directed at minor learners;
• Uploading or distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or any content that sexualises minors;
• Impersonating any teacher, administrator, parent, or learner;
• Fraudulently altering or fabricating marks, results, or academic records;
• Using the platform to conduct commercial activities, spam, or unsolicited marketing;
• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to any part of the platform or any other user's data;
• Using automated bots, scrapers, or scripts to extract data from the platform;
• Reselling or sublicensing access to the platform without written authorisation.

11. Enforcement

Violations of this AUP may result in:

• Warning: For minor or first-time violations, a written warning may be issued.
• Suspension: Temporary suspension of the user's account pending investigation.
• Termination: Permanent termination of the user's account and, for serious violations, termination of the school's subscription without refund.
• Legal action: Where activities are unlawful, Pedagy will report the matter to the relevant authorities and may pursue civil or criminal action.

Pedagy will use its reasonable judgement in determining the appropriate response to any violation, taking into account the nature and severity of the conduct and any prior history.

12. Reporting Violations

If you become aware of any violation of this AUP — including inappropriate content, suspicious behaviour, or suspected abuse involving a minor — please report it immediately:

Issue Type	Contact
Inappropriate content or user behaviour	Your School Administrator, or abuse@pedagy.co.za
Suspected abuse or harm to a minor	Your School Administrator and abuse@pedagy.co.za immediately
Security vulnerability	security@pedagy.co.za
Data privacy concern	popia@pedagy.co.za
General AUP violations	support@pedagy.co.za