Weaving music and books in your baby and toddler classes can really bring them to life! But it’s important to make sure you’ve ticked all the boxes legally when using others’ material.
Copyright is a frequently discussed topic in our provider Facebook group. But where to start? Legal jargon can be intimidating. We’re here to help, with this no-nonsense guide to making sure your classes are copyright-friendly.
* Disclaimer: while the Happity team have put together this guidance after doing extensive research from reliable sources, we’re not a law firm! We always recommend seeking your own advice on legal matters.
Copyright when using books or stories in your baby and toddler classes
Schools and non-profit organisations are usually allowed to use copyrighted materials for educational purposes. However, if you run a business that intends to make a profit and you want to read a book aloud in your class, then you need clear permission.
You can apply for permission through an author’s publisher (see Usborne’s copyright request form for an example), or occasionally via the author directly (if they are self-published). Or using a licensing agency such as the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) or NLA Media Access (NLA) can be a convenient and cost-effective alternative. These organisations represent the copyright holders of a large number of works, though they usually charge a fee for their services.
Things to bear in mind:
- Many publishers ask you to request permission for one book at a time and a response can take up to 16 weeks, so do plan ahead!
- Even if you’re just basing a class around a work, for example, a Room on the Broom-themed play for toddlers, you still need to get permission from the publisher of the original work. Under copyright law, this would be classed as a ‘derivative work’.
- Copyright laws apply to digital as well as physical copies. Which means you’re not allowed to download or share photocopies of books, even if you’re using them for educational purposes.
Copyright when using music in your baby and toddler classes
If you are planning to use recorded music in your classes, even if you’re just playing background music on Spotify or similar, you need to get a music licence from PPL.
Some artists require you to take out an annual licence to use their music; others may grant you free use if you sell their products.
There are a few solutions if cost is a barrier:
- Try one of the royalty-free music libraries out there, such as Soundstripe or the Free Music Archive (FMA)
- Choose music in the public domain such as nursery rhymes or action songs – as long as you sing them yourself unaccompanied or provide your own backing music! You can find a list of public domain music on websites like Musopen or the Public Domain Information Project
- Use music that’s licensed under a Creative Commons license. This allows people to use music for free, as long as the artist is given proper attribution. Some (though not all) tracks on sites like Jamendo or Soundcloud are available under Creative Commons – filter your search results to browse them.
Have a question for your fellow baby & toddler class providers? The Happity activity provider Facebook group is the perfect place to network with like-minded individuals in your field.
The exemptions: when use of copyrighted material is allowed in baby and toddler classes
The government website lists some of the circumstances in which you may be able to use copyright materials without obtaining permission (most are unlikely to be relevant to baby & toddler classes, apart from the two marked in bold below which might apply):
- Non-commercial research and private study – copying limited extracts of copyrighted works for genuine non-commercial research purposes
- Text and data mining for non-commercial research – using software to analyse lots of text or data for non-profit research
- Criticism, review and reporting of current events – using copyrighted works to criticise, review or report current events
- Teaching – the quoting of small excerpts of material in lessons or performances within educational settings for non-commercial purposes (i.e. without charge) is permitted.
- Helping disabled people – educational or charitable organisations are allowed to make accessible format copies of works for disabled individuals (e.g. a Braille copy to help with a visual impairment), provided it’s just for their personal use
- Time-shifting – recording TV or radio broadcasts at home for private domestic viewing or listening at a more convenient time
- Parody, caricature and pastiche – using small extracts of copyrighted material for caricature, parody or pastiche purposes.
* As most class providers run their activities for commercial gain, however, unfortunately this is unlikely to apply to you and your classes. But it could be used to quote a few lines from a text within a free antenatal class to educate parents-to-be, for example. Read more about copyright laws when operating a non-profit or charitable organisation.
Sounds like too much hassle?! Try these other copyright-free ways to enhance your classes
- Use your own materials
One option (adopted by many class providers) is to use your own work in your classes, rather than copyrighted material. If you’re a musical / creative type, then creating works to perform for your classes could be the perfect workaround! - Use works in the public domain
There are plenty of children’s books that are public domain (copyright generally expires 70 years after the death of the author). So while they’ll need to be quite a bit older than The Gruffalo, this does include a huge number of fairytales and children’s classics, including Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame), Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), and, very recently, Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne). - Start a baby or toddler class that already has the legal stuff sorted
If you’re wanting to run classes without having to worry about whether the materials you’re using are copyright-friendly, becoming a franchisee might be the way forward for you! Joining a franchise offers the opportunity to run your own business minus some of the admin / legal headaches like copyright. You can find out more (and browse opportunities) in our useful Guide to UK Baby Franchises.
Class provider? Let us help.
With 2.6m parents using Happity, we are the UK’s most-loved platform for finding baby and toddler classes.
Whether you want help reaching more families, need a booking system, or are just getting started, we’re here to support your journey.
Register and list for free here
If you liked this post, you may also like:
Rules and regulations when running a baby or toddler class
4 crucial questions to ask before marketing your baby class
9 top marketing tips for children’s activity providers
