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Licence & Acceptable Use Policy

Updated: August 2026

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This Licence & Acceptable Use Policy explains how CPD Sparks resources may be accessed, downloaded, used, adapted and shared by subscribing schools and organisations.

By accessing, downloading or using CPD Sparks resources, you agree to comply with this policy.

This policy should be read alongside the CPD Sparks Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

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1. Your CPD Sparks Licence

An active CPD Sparks subscription provides the subscribing school or organisation with a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable licence to access and use CPD Sparks resources for its own internal professional development.

Your subscription provides permission to use CPD Sparks resources. It does not transfer ownership of those resources or the intellectual property contained within them.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a subscription and its associated licence apply to one school or organisation only.

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2. What Your Licence Allows

During an active subscription, your school or organisation may:

  • access resources available within your membership;

  • download resources made available for download;

  • save downloaded resources securely for internal use;

  • use presentations during staff meetings;

  • use resources for internal INSET and professional development;

  • use Sparks with teachers, teaching assistants, leaders and other relevant members of staff;

  • use resources within phase, department or team meetings;

  • display CPD Sparks materials to staff during internal training;

  • print reasonable copies of supporting materials for participating staff;

  • use resources to support professional conversations and reflection; and

  • make reasonable adaptations to editable resources where permitted.

The intention is to give subscribing schools flexibility to use CPD Sparks in a way that best supports their professional development priorities.

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3. Who Can Use the Resources?

CPD Sparks resources may be used by staff working within the subscribing school or organisation.

For example, a school subscription may be used across different staff groups within that school, including teachers, teaching assistants, leaders and support staff where the content is relevant.

There is no requirement to purchase an individual subscription for every member of staff within the same subscribing school.

However, your subscription does not automatically provide access to other schools, organisations or settings.

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4. Multi-School Trusts, Federations and Groups

Unless specifically purchased as a multi-school or organisational licence, a CPD Sparks subscription covers one school or setting.

A subscribing school must not routinely provide CPD Sparks resources to another school within the same academy trust, federation, local authority or school group unless that school is also appropriately licensed.

Trusts, federations or organisations wishing to use CPD Sparks across multiple settings should contact us to discuss appropriate membership arrangements.

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5. Downloading Resources

Members may download resources that CPD Sparks makes available for download as part of their subscription.

Downloaded resources should be stored securely and used for the internal professional development of the subscribing organisation.

Downloading a resource does not transfer ownership or copyright to the subscriber.

CPD Sparks retains all applicable intellectual property rights in its original resources.

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6. Can I Edit CPD Sparks Resources?

Where a resource is supplied in an editable format, schools may make reasonable adaptations for their own internal use.

For example, you may:

  • add your school logo;

  • reference your school's policies;

  • include school-specific examples;

  • add discussion questions relevant to your context;

  • add information about your school's priorities;

  • adapt activities for particular staff groups; or

  • add additional slides or notes to support your own professional development.

We actively encourage leaders to connect professional development to their own school context.

However, adapting a CPD Sparks resource does not transfer ownership of the original content.

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7. What You Cannot Do

CPD Sparks resources must not be:

  • sold or resold;

  • commercially distributed;

  • uploaded to paid or free teaching-resource websites;

  • uploaded to publicly accessible websites or platforms;

  • shared publicly through social media;

  • shared with schools or organisations that do not have an appropriate licence;

  • included within another commercial CPD product;

  • copied and rebranded for commercial use;

  • distributed through training businesses or consultancy services;

  • used to create competing professional development products;

  • reproduced substantially and presented as another person's or organisation's original work; or

  • made publicly available for others to download.

Resources must also not be deliberately distributed in a way that enables another organisation to avoid purchasing its own appropriate subscription.

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8. Sharing Resources With Staff

You may share resources internally with staff employed by or working within your subscribing organisation where this is reasonably necessary to deliver professional development.

For example, a school leader may provide a supporting document to staff following a CPD session or place relevant materials within a secure internal staff area.

Where resources are stored electronically, reasonable steps should be taken to ensure they are not publicly accessible.

Resources should not be uploaded to an unrestricted website or shared through a public link.

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9. Staff Moving to Another School

CPD Sparks resources are licensed to the subscribing organisation rather than to individual members of staff.

If a member of staff leaves the subscribing organisation, they should not take, retain or continue using the school's downloaded CPD Sparks resource library at another organisation.

Their new school or organisation would need its own appropriate CPD Sparks membership to access and use the resources.

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10. Using Resources After a Subscription Ends

During an active subscription, members may access the CPD Sparks online library and download resources in accordance with this licence.

Once a subscription expires or is cancelled, access to the online members' area and future resources will end.

Unless otherwise stated at the point of purchase, resources legitimately downloaded during an active subscription may continue to be used internally by the original subscribing school, provided that:

  • the resources are not redistributed;

  • the resources are not shared with another organisation;

  • the resources are not resold or commercially exploited; and

  • the school continues to comply with the intellectual property provisions within this policy.

An expired subscription does not provide continued access to updated resources, new content or the CPD Sparks members' library.

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11. Free CPD Sparks Resources

Some CPD Sparks resources may be made available free of charge, including sample sessions designed to allow schools to explore the platform before subscribing.

Free resources remain the intellectual property of CPD Sparks unless otherwise stated.

Downloading a free resource does not provide permission to resell, commercially distribute or republish that resource.

Free resources may be used within an individual school or organisation for internal educational and professional development purposes.

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12. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the original content, structure, written materials, presentations, scripts, graphics and downloadable resources produced by CPD Sparks are protected by applicable intellectual property law.

All applicable rights are reserved.

References to external research, publications, organisations, videos or websites remain the intellectual property of their respective owners.

Where CPD Sparks links to or references external material, this does not mean that CPD Sparks owns that material.

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13. CPD Sparks Branding

CPD Sparks branding, logos and other brand assets must not be used in a way that suggests another organisation, service or product is owned, endorsed or operated by CPD Sparks without prior written permission.

Schools may display CPD Sparks resources internally as part of their professional development activity.

Where a school adapts an editable CPD Sparks resource, any existing copyright or ownership notices should not be deliberately removed or obscured.

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14. Use by Consultants and External Trainers

A standard school subscription does not provide a licence for consultants, trainers or other commercial providers to use CPD Sparks materials when delivering paid training to multiple schools or organisations.

If you are an education consultant, training provider, multi-academy trust or other organisation wishing to use CPD Sparks resources across multiple clients or settings, please contact us to discuss appropriate licensing.

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15. Recording CPD Sessions

Schools may use CPD Sparks materials within live internal staff training.

A standard subscription does not provide permission to record CPD Sparks presentations or narrated materials and subsequently make those recordings publicly available or distribute them to other organisations.

Internal recordings containing substantial CPD Sparks content should only be retained where necessary for legitimate internal professional development and should remain securely accessible only to the subscribing organisation.

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16. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Reproduction

CPD Sparks resources must not be uploaded in substantial quantities to artificial intelligence systems, content-generation platforms, databases or other digital services for the purpose of:

  • reproducing the CPD Sparks resource library;

  • generating substantially similar commercial resources;

  • creating a competing CPD service;

  • training a commercial content system using CPD Sparks materials; or

  • circumventing the need for a CPD Sparks subscription.

Limited use of small extracts for legitimate internal administrative or professional purposes does not transfer ownership of CPD Sparks intellectual property and must remain consistent with this policy.

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17. Responsible Use

CPD Sparks resources are designed to support professional development.

Schools are responsible for determining how resources are used within their own context and for ensuring that any adaptations remain appropriate, accurate and consistent with current statutory guidance, school policies and professional expectations.

CPD Sparks materials should not be treated as a replacement for statutory training, professional advice or school-specific policies and procedures.

This is particularly important in relation to safeguarding.

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18. Suspected Misuse

If CPD Sparks reasonably believes that resources or membership access are being used in breach of this policy, we may contact the subscriber to investigate.

Where there is evidence of serious or repeated misuse, CPD Sparks reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to the service in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.

This may include circumstances involving unauthorised redistribution, resale, commercial exploitation or systematic sharing of resources outside the licensed organisation.

Where appropriate, CPD Sparks also reserves the right to take reasonable steps to protect its intellectual property rights.

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19. Reporting Unauthorised Use

If you become aware that CPD Sparks resources are being shared, sold or distributed without permission, please contact us using the details provided on our website.

We appreciate the support of our member schools in protecting the resources that allow us to continue creating high-quality professional development content.

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20. Changes to This Policy

CPD Sparks may update this Licence & Acceptable Use Policy from time to time.

The latest version will be published on the CPD Sparks website.

Material changes affecting existing subscribers will be communicated where reasonably appropriate.

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21. Questions About Using Our Resources

We want schools to make full use of their CPD Sparks membership.

If you are unsure whether a particular use of a resource is permitted, please contact us before sharing or distributing the material.

We would much rather you ask.

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