Privacy Policy

Chik Montessori School Effective Date: September 2026 Applies to: Chik Montessori School, Chik College, chik.ng, app.chik.ng, and related Chik digital services

1. Introduction

Chik Montessori School respects the privacy of our Students, Parents, Guardians, Staff, applicants, families, and other people who interact with us.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, protect, retain, and otherwise process personal information through our schools and digital services, including chik.ng and the Chik App.

Because we are a school, much of the information we handle relates to children. We recognise that children's personal information requires particular care and protection.

This Privacy Policy should be read together with our:

Terms of Service;
Parent & Guardian Access Policy;
Data Retention Policy; and
other applicable School policies.

2. Who We Are

For the purposes of applicable data-protection law, Chik Montessori School is responsible for determining why and how personal information covered by this Privacy Policy is processed, except where another organisation independently determines those purposes and means.

References in this Policy to “Chik,” “the School,” “we,” “us,” or “our” include Chik Montessori School, Chik College, and the applicable Chik school branches and operations.

Our digital services include the Chik App and our websites.

3. Our Privacy Principles

When we process personal information, we seek to ensure that it is:

processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently;
collected for specified and legitimate purposes;
adequate, relevant, and limited to what is reasonably necessary;
accurate and kept appropriately up to date;
retained only for as long as reasonably necessary or legally required;
protected against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure; and
processed with appropriate accountability and care.

We design our administrative and digital systems with particular consideration for the privacy and safety of children.

4. Personal Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on a person's relationship with Chik and the services they use.

Student Information

We may process information such as:

full name;
date of birth and age;
sex or gender where appropriately recorded;
photograph;
Student identification number;
class, level, and branch;
enrolment and admission information;
Parent and Guardian relationships;
emergency contact information;
attendance and arrival/departure records;
timetable information;
assignments;
teacher logs and classroom information;
assessment and academic records;
educational progress information;
behaviour or disciplinary records where applicable;
participation in School activities;
Student work;
photographs, videos, or other School media;
safeguarding information where necessary;
health, allergy, disability, accessibility, or other welfare information where necessary for the Student's care or education; and
other information reasonably required to educate, protect, and administer the Student's relationship with the School.

We do not collect every category above for every Student.

Parent and Guardian Information

We may collect:

name;
telephone number;
email address;
relationship to the Student;
account and login information;
family associations;
contact address;
emergency contact information;
communications with the School;
billing information;
payment and transaction records;
Parent or Guardian access records;
information provided in connection with an access or safeguarding request; and
other information reasonably necessary to manage the person's relationship with the Student and School.

Staff Information

For Staff, we may process information necessary for employment and School administration, including:

identity and contact information;
role and employment information;
assigned classes and subjects;
attendance or work-related records;
account information;
teacher logs;
communications;
activity within School systems; and
other employment or administrative information.

Additional Staff privacy notices or employment policies may apply to information processed specifically in connection with employment.

Technical Information

When someone uses our websites or App, we may process technical information such as:

IP address;
browser and device information;
login activity;
security events;
dates and times of access;
pages or features accessed;
application logs;
notification status; and
cookies or similar technologies where applicable.

We use technical information primarily to operate, secure, maintain, troubleshoot, and improve our digital services.

5. How We Obtain Personal Information

We may obtain personal information:

directly from Students where appropriate;
from Parents and Guardians;
during admission or registration;
from Teachers and other Staff;
through attendance processes;
through classroom and academic activities;
through the Chik App;
through School forms and records;
through communications with the School;
through payment and billing processes;
from another authorised Parent or Guardian;
from previous School records where appropriate;
from service providers acting on our behalf;
from public authorities or official documentation where appropriate; and
through the use of our websites and digital systems.

Where one person provides information about another person, we expect that information to be provided only where there is an appropriate reason for doing so.

6. Why We Use Personal Information

We process personal information for purposes including:

Education

To:

enrol and register Students;
organise classes and timetables;
deliver education;
record topics taught and assignments;
assess and monitor academic progress;
maintain educational records; and
provide Parents and Guardians with appropriate information about their children's education.

Attendance and Safety

To:

record Student attendance;
record arrival and departure;
identify unexplained absence;
support Student safety;
maintain appropriate emergency information; and
respond to safeguarding concerns.

Parent and Guardian Access

To:

identify authorised Parents and Guardians;
associate Users with Students;
provide appropriate access to Student information;
verify relationships where necessary;
manage family accounts; and
investigate requests concerning Parent or Guardian access.

Communications

To send and manage:

School announcements;
teacher updates;
assignment notifications;
attendance notifications;
academic information;
calendars and timetable information;
fee reminders;
payment confirmations;
administrative notices;
security notices; and
other relevant School communications.

Billing and Payments

To:

create Student bills;
manage family accounts;
record School fees and other charges;
record payments;
allocate payments to Student bills;
maintain balances;
issue receipts;
record credits, adjustments, or reversals;
reconcile School financial records; and
manage outstanding amounts.

Administration

To:

operate the School;
maintain Student and Staff records;
administer our digital services;
respond to questions and complaints;
correct inaccurate records;
prevent duplicate records;
manage School operations; and
maintain appropriate historical and administrative records.

Security and Fraud Prevention

To:

authenticate Users;
maintain account security;
detect unauthorised access;
investigate suspected misuse;
protect our systems;
prevent fraud and impersonation; and
maintain appropriate audit records.

Legal, Regulatory and Safeguarding Purposes

To:

comply with applicable laws and lawful requests;
protect the rights and safety of Students and others;
respond to safeguarding concerns;
establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
respond to court orders; and
meet appropriate regulatory, educational, accounting, or reporting requirements.

7. Our Lawful Bases for Processing

We process personal information only where we have an appropriate lawful basis.

Depending on the information and purpose, this may include:

Consent

We may rely on consent where consent is appropriate or required.

Where we rely on consent, the person providing it may withdraw that consent, subject to applicable law.

Withdrawal of consent does not make processing that lawfully occurred before withdrawal unlawful.

Contractual Necessity

We may process information where necessary to provide services or perform obligations arising from our relationship with Students, Parents, Guardians, Staff, or other Users.

Legal Obligation

We may process information where necessary to comply with an obligation imposed by applicable law.

Vital Interests

We may process information where necessary to protect someone's life, health, safety, or other vital interests in circumstances recognised by law.

Public Interest

Where applicable, information may be processed where necessary for a task or function carried out in the public interest.

Legitimate Interests

We may process information where necessary for a legitimate interest of the School or another person, provided that we appropriately consider the rights, interests, and reasonable expectations of the people whose information is involved.

Our legitimate interests may include operating and securing our School systems, maintaining accurate administrative records, preventing fraud, communicating appropriately with families, and improving School operations.

We do not rely on legitimate interests where the relevant rights and interests of the individual require protection that outweighs those interests.

8. Children's Personal Information

Most Chik Students are children, so protecting children's information is fundamental to our operations.

Where consent is the appropriate lawful basis for processing a child's information, we will seek appropriate consent from a Parent, Guardian, or other person legally authorised to provide it, as required by applicable law.

However, not every processing activity involving a child depends on consent.

Information may also be processed where another lawful basis applies, including where processing is appropriately necessary for education, safeguarding, legal obligations, vital interests, or other purposes recognised by applicable law.

We seek to:

collect only information reasonably necessary for appropriate purposes;
limit access to people who have a legitimate reason to see the information;
apply additional care to sensitive information;
use age-appropriate practices where Students interact directly with digital services;
appropriately verify Parent or Guardian relationships where necessary; and
consider the best interests, safety, and rights of Students when making decisions concerning their information.

The Chik App is not intended to give children unrestricted public profiles or expose Student records publicly.

9. Sensitive Personal Information

Some information handled by the School may be particularly sensitive.

This may include information relating to a person's:

health;
disability or accessibility needs;
biometric information, if ever used;
religious beliefs, where relevant to legitimate School activities;
safeguarding circumstances; or
other categories given additional protection under applicable law.

We will only process sensitive personal information where there is an appropriate lawful basis and where any additional legal requirements for processing such information are satisfied.

Access to sensitive information should be limited to persons who reasonably require it.

10. Parent and Guardian Access to Student Information

Parents and Guardians may be given access to information relating to Students with whom they have an authorised relationship.

A Parent or Guardian's access is determined by their relationship with the Student and the permissions provided by the School.

One Parent or Guardian does not automatically control another Parent or Guardian's account.

Accordingly, one User cannot ordinarily exercise another User's privacy rights or demand deletion of another person's account merely because both are associated with the same Student or family.

Requests to add, review, restrict, or remove Parent or Guardian access are handled in accordance with the Parent & Guardian Access Policy.

11. Who Can Access Personal Information Within Chik

Access to information is role-based wherever reasonably practicable.

Depending on the information and purpose, it may be available to:

the Student;
authorised Parents or Guardians;
Teachers;
Head Teachers or Heads of Department;
School administrators;
School management;
finance personnel;
safeguarding personnel;
authorised technical administrators; and
other Staff who reasonably require the information to perform their responsibilities.

Not every member of Staff should have access to every Student record.

We aim to provide access according to legitimate educational, administrative, financial, technical, or safeguarding needs.

12. Sharing Personal Information

We do not sell Student, Parent, Guardian, or Staff personal information.

We may share personal information where reasonably necessary with:

authorised Parents and Guardians;
appropriate School Staff;
service providers processing information on our behalf;
payment or financial service providers where applicable;
hosting and technology providers;
email, messaging, or notification providers;
professional advisers where necessary;
government, educational, regulatory, or law-enforcement authorities where required or appropriately authorised;
courts or other persons pursuant to lawful processes; and
other parties where the individual has authorised the disclosure or another lawful basis applies.

Where a third-party service provider processes personal information on our behalf, we seek to use providers that offer appropriate privacy and security protections.

13. Service Providers

Chik may use external technology providers to help operate the School and Chik App.

These providers may perform functions such as:

cloud hosting;
database infrastructure;
email delivery;
messaging;
notifications;
payment processing;
system monitoring;
data backup;
security; and
technical support.

We remain responsible for considering how personal information is handled when selecting and using service providers.

Where required, appropriate contractual or other safeguards will be used.

14. International Data Transfers

Some technology providers used by Chik may store or process information outside Nigeria.

Where personal information is transferred outside Nigeria, we will seek to ensure that the transfer is permitted under applicable data-protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

Depending on the circumstances, these safeguards may include contractual protections, recognised adequacy arrangements, consent where legally appropriate, or another lawful transfer mechanism.

15. School Fees and Financial Information

The Chik App may process information concerning:

Student bills;
family balances;
payment amounts;
payment dates;
payment methods;
bank or transaction references;
receipts;
credits;
reversals;
allocations; and
outstanding amounts.

We use this information to administer School fees and maintain appropriate accounting records.

Where possible, Chik should avoid storing full payment-card credentials or other financial credentials that are unnecessary for School administration.

Financial records may need to be retained after a Student or family stops using the Chik App because of accounting, audit, dispute-resolution, or legal requirements.

16. Attendance Information

The School may collect attendance information, including Student arrival and departure records.

Attendance information is used for School administration, Parent communication, Student safety, and safeguarding.

Where the School uses scanning or other technology to record attendance, the information generated will form part of the Student's School record as appropriate.

The Chik App is not intended to operate as continuous location tracking.

17. Teacher Logs and Classroom Records

Teachers may record information concerning:

lessons taught;
assignments;
classroom activities;
Student progress;
reminders; and
other educational information.

Some of this information may be made available to authorised Parents or Guardians.

Teacher logs may also be accessible to appropriate School administrators for educational supervision, quality assurance, and School administration.

Comments, corrections, or administrative responses attached to a Teacher Log may be retained as part of the relevant School record.

18. Communications

We may use contact information to send communications necessary for the School relationship.

These may include transactional or administrative messages such as:

attendance alerts;
assignment notifications;
Teacher Log summaries;
academic information;
School announcements;
payment receipts;
fee reminders;
timetable changes;
security messages; and
important account notices.

We may separately seek consent or provide an appropriate choice where required for communications that are primarily promotional or otherwise not necessary for the School relationship.

19. Photographs and Media

The School may take or receive photographs, videos, recordings, Student work, or other media in connection with School activities.

The way such media may be used depends on its purpose.

For example, media used internally for a Student record or classroom activity may be treated differently from media intended for public advertising, social media, or promotional materials.

Where consent or another permission is required for a particular use, we will seek that permission as appropriate.

We will not treat consent to ordinary School administration as blanket consent for every possible public or promotional use of a child's image.

20. Publicity and Social Media

Where the School wishes to publish identifiable Student photographs, videos, work, names, or similar information through public websites, social media, advertisements, or promotional materials, we will consider the appropriate lawful basis and any required permissions.

Parents and Guardians should contact the School if they have questions about how a Student's image or work is being used.

Publicity permissions may be managed separately from ordinary access to the Chik App.

21. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our websites and digital services may use cookies or similar technologies.

Some may be necessary to:

keep Users signed in;
maintain security;
remember preferences;
operate website or App features; or
maintain sessions.

We may also use appropriate analytics to understand how our Services are used and improve them.

Where consent is required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, Users will be given an appropriate choice.

22. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information.

Depending on the system and information involved, measures may include:

authenticated User accounts;
role-based access controls;
password protections;
encrypted network connections;
restricted administrative access;
security logging;
backups;
software updates;
monitoring for suspicious activity; and
procedures for responding to security incidents.

No digital system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Users also have a role in protecting information and should keep their login credentials confidential and notify the School if they believe an account has been compromised.

23. Data Breaches and Security Incidents

Where we become aware of a suspected personal-data breach, we will investigate it and take appropriate steps to contain and address the incident.

Where applicable law requires notification to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission or affected individuals, we will make the required notification in accordance with applicable requirements.

Our response may include securing accounts, restricting access, preserving relevant logs, correcting vulnerabilities, and communicating with affected Users.

24. How Long We Keep Information

We do not intend to keep personal information indefinitely merely because our systems allow us to do so.

Retention periods depend on:

the type of information;
why it was collected;
the Student's relationship with the School;
safeguarding considerations;
accounting and financial requirements;
legal and regulatory obligations;
dispute or complaint requirements;
the need to maintain appropriate educational records; and
legitimate administrative requirements.

Different categories of information may therefore have different retention periods.

A summary by record type — including permanent school record information — is set out in the Data Retention Policy.

When a retention period ends and no legal or administrative hold applies, we review the information and may delete, anonymise, archive with restricted access, or retain a limited record as part of the School's permanent institutional or academic record, as described in that policy.

Closing or deactivating an App account does not necessarily require immediate deletion of all records associated with that account. Account suspension, deactivation, closure, and removal of access to a particular student are described in the Terms of Service. Who may access a student is described in the Parent & Guardian Access Policy.

25. Accuracy and Correction

We seek to maintain accurate and up-to-date personal information.

Parents, Guardians, Staff, and other Users should inform the School when important information changes.

Users may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

Where appropriate, the School may retain an auditable history showing that a record was corrected rather than silently deleting the original record.

26. Your Data Protection Rights

Subject to applicable law and any relevant limitations or exceptions, individuals may have rights including the right to:

be informed about how their personal information is processed;
request access to their personal information;
request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
request deletion of information in appropriate circumstances;
object to certain processing;
request restriction of certain processing;
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
request portability of information where applicable;
raise concerns about automated decision-making where applicable; and
lodge a complaint with the appropriate supervisory authority.

These rights are not necessarily absolute.

For example, a request for deletion may not require the School to destroy an educational, safeguarding, accounting, or legal record that it is required or appropriately permitted to retain.

27. Requests Concerning Children's Information

Where a Parent or Guardian seeks to exercise a right on behalf of a child, the School may verify:

the identity of the requester;
their relationship with the Student;
whether they have appropriate authority to make the request; and
whether fulfilling the request would affect the rights, privacy, safety, or interests of the Student or another person.

As children mature, their own privacy rights and interests may become increasingly relevant to decisions about their information.

The School will consider applicable law, the circumstances, and the Student's interests when handling such requests.

28. Requests Concerning Another Parent or Guardian

A User generally cannot exercise another adult's data-protection rights on that person's behalf without appropriate authority.

For example, a Parent ordinarily cannot request that the School delete or deactivate another Parent's Chik account simply because the two individuals are married, separated, divorced, members of the same household, or associated with the same Student. See the Terms of Service on account deactivation and the Parent & Guardian Access Policy on access to a Student.

However, a Parent or Guardian may request a review of another person's access to a Student.

Such requests will be handled under the Parent & Guardian Access Policy, taking into account safeguarding, legal arrangements, School records, and other relevant circumstances.

29. How to Exercise Your Rights

To make a privacy request, please contact Chik Montessori School through the official privacy contact information provided by the School.

We may ask for information reasonably necessary to:

confirm your identity;
locate the relevant records;
verify your authority where the request concerns a child; and
understand the scope of your request.

We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

We will not ordinarily require payment merely for exercising a data-protection right, except where applicable law permits otherwise.

30. Automated Decision-Making

Chik may use software to automate routine administrative functions, such as:

generating notifications;
calculating or displaying balances;
identifying outstanding assignments;
generating reminders;
organising timetable information; or
producing administrative summaries.

We do not intend to make decisions that have significant legal or similarly serious effects on Students, Parents, Guardians, or Staff solely through automated processing without appropriate human involvement where such involvement is required.

Where we introduce technology that materially changes this position, we will review the privacy implications and update our practices as appropriate.

31. Data Protection Impact Assessments

Where Chik introduces technology or processing that is likely to present a high risk to individuals' privacy or rights, we may conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment or similar privacy review before or during implementation.

This may be particularly relevant to technologies involving large-scale children's data, sensitive information, biometric technologies, systematic monitoring, artificial intelligence, or significant new uses of existing Student information.

32. Privacy by Design

When developing new Chik App features, we aim to consider privacy from the beginning rather than after a feature has already been deployed.

This includes considering:

what information the feature actually needs;
who should be able to see it;
how long it should be retained;
whether information can be aggregated or anonymised;
whether Parent or Student consent is appropriate;
potential risks to Students;
security requirements; and
whether the proposed use is compatible with the reason the information was originally collected.

33. Third-Party Links

Our websites, emails, or App may contain links to websites or services operated by other organisations.

Their privacy practices may differ from ours.

Users should review the privacy information provided by those organisations where appropriate.

34. Complaints

If you have concerns about how Chik has handled personal information, we encourage you to contact the School first so that the matter can be investigated and addressed.

You also have the right, where applicable, to make a complaint to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) or otherwise seek remedies available under applicable law.

Contacting the School first does not remove any right you may have to approach the appropriate regulatory authority.

35. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in:

the Chik App;
School operations;
technology;
our data-processing practices;
applicable law; or
regulatory guidance.

Where changes are material, we may notify Users through the Chik App, website, email, or another appropriate channel.

Where a new activity requires consent, we will not treat a general update to this Privacy Policy as a substitute for obtaining that consent.

36. Contact Us

Questions, concerns, complaints, correction requests, access requests, or other privacy matters may be submitted to:

Chik Montessori School

Website: chik.ng

Privacy Contact: [email protected]

Telephone: +234 802 352 5912

Postal/Physical Address: 57 Olaogun Street, Agbado, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Where Chik appoints a Data Protection Officer or designated privacy contact, their details will be published here.

37. Applicable Law

This Privacy Policy is intended to operate in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, applicable regulations and directives issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and other applicable Nigerian laws.

Where this Policy provides less protection than a mandatory requirement of applicable law, the legal requirement will apply.

Chik Montessori School

Privacy Policy • September 2026