- Applying for membership
1.1 Membership is open for schools in the UK or internationally and applications can be completed online here.
1.2 Applications for group memberships can be made on behalf of a group of schools, for example by a Multi Academy Trust, a Teaching School Alliance or other group. In the case of a group membership application, each school in the group will be considered a member and each school will be entitled to the membership benefits for the school’s class of membership. The sponsoring organisation may become a Sponsors Network member
1.3 Applications for membership will be considered by SSAT (The Schools Network) Ltd (SSAT) who have the right to refuse applications.
1.4 By submitting an application form electronically the member is deemed to have signed the application form.
1.5 SSAT reserves the right to re-grade a member to a more appropriate level, if the relevant information appertaining to the membership level applied for is not received, or proves to be inaccurate in any way. Members will be informed of the requirement for re-grade and asked if they wish to continue with their application.
1.6 All information provided by members must be true and accurate at the point of applying. In the event of a change of circumstances such as type of establishment, number on roll, phase of education or change of contact details, members must notify SSAT by email or in writing so that our records are up to date.
- Membership payments, renewals and cancellations
2.1 Membership is for a period of 12 or 24 months starting on the day application is processed. This will be within 1 week of the date that application is submitted to us and approved. Payment must be received within 30 days of receipt of the invoice.
2.2 Payment can be made by cheque or BACS. If membership payment remains outstanding we will notify members by telephone, email or letter.
2.3 In the case of a group membership, the invoice for all schools in the group will be issued to the sponsoring organisation.
2.4 Members will be notified that their membership is due for renewal 2 months before the start of the new membership year. At this point the member has the option to change their membership type to either a 12 or 24-month duration. A request to change membership period must be made in writing to the membership team via email or letter. Fees will be adjusted accordingly.
2.5 It is the member’s responsibility to advise SSAT of their intention not to renew. Membership payments not received within 2 months (60 days) of becoming due will result in the membership being considered lapsed and all benefits will be terminated.
2.6 Payment of the membership fee will be deemed to be acceptance of membership.
2.7 To cancel membership at the point of renewal the headteacher, principal or chief executive of the member school/organisation will need to notify us by email or in writing stating a reason which will be recorded for internal use only.
2.8 In the event that membership is cancelled or terminated prior to the end of the membership period, all outstanding membership fees for the full period of membership will be payable. No refunds will be due for any unused membership period.
2.9 If a member has been offered and accepted a trial membership the following conditions will apply:
2.9.1 All benefits of membership will be available except for the Leadership Legacy Programme and a free place at the National conference for the duration of the trial period.
2.9.2 An invoice will be issued one month prior to the end of the trial period for a full 12 month membership at the standard membership price and will be due for payment by the end of the trial period
2.9.3 If the member fails to pay the invoice by the due date then all membership benefits available during the trial period will end.
2.9.4 Only one trial period will be available to a school.
- Membership categories
3.1 English and Welsh school membership
3.1.1 Applications for membership in England and Wales are currently considered for schools only. Membership belongs to the school and all full-time staff of the school. A membership number will be issued, this number can be used when contacting us for identification purposes.
3.2 International membership
3.2.1 International membership for schools, organisations, HEIs, FECs and Local Authorities outside of England and Wales (including Scotland and Ireland) is offered by iNet, the international arm of SSAT.
3.2.2 Any organisation that qualifies for iNet membership under clause 3.2.1 may become a member of SSAT in the appropriate membership type.
- Membership benefits
4.1 Member benefits are only available if subscription payments are up to date.
4.2 Attendance at events, seminars, courses and on programmes at member rates or as a benefit of membership is reliant on up to date subscription payments at the date of the event and not at the date of delegate booking.
4.3 Member engagement that benefits from exclusive member access or discounted member rates will be cancelled and/or re-invoiced to reflect non-member status and fares at any time if the engagement is in progress or pending and the member chooses to terminate their subscription.
4.4 Member benefits may change without notice.
4.5 Access to member benefits for individual school staff is dependent on the Member providing names, roles and contact details for those staff
- Terminating membership
5.1 SSAT (The Schools Network) Ltd (SSAT) reserves the right to withdraw membership or to prevent any member from renewing membership if the member puts the organisation into disrepute.
- Intellectual Property
6.1 Unless otherwise stated, all intellectual property rights for articles, blogs, images and all other written material on SSAT websites, emails and materials belongs to SSAT.
6.2 Material in the members’ area of the SSAT website is provided for the exclusive use of SSAT members and members staff and should not be shared with non-members of SSAT. Members should refer to the Member site terms and conditions for use of the members’ site here.
6.3 Material on the publicly accessible section of the SSAT website or emailed to members can be shared with non-members subject to the sharer informing the recipient that the material is owned by SSAT.
- Acceptance of terms and conditions
These terms and conditions may be revised from time to time and any updates will be posted here. Members are responsible for keeping up to date with all changes. Continued membership shall be deemed acceptance of all changes to these terms and conditions.
- Data Protection
8.1 “Data Protection Legislation” is defined as (i) unless and until the Data Protection Act 2018, the (“DPA”), the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”) and the Law Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680) (“LED”) are no longer directly applicable in the UK, the DPA, the GDPR, the LED, and any national implementing laws, regulations and secondary legislation, as amended or updated from time to time, in the UK (ii) insofar as such legislation has not been repealed or superseded by the DPA 2018, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/2699), the Electronic Communications Data Protection Directive 2002/58/EC, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (“PECR”) and all applicable laws and regulations about the processing of personal data and privacy, including if applicable legally binding guidance and codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner; and (iii) any successor legislation to the GDPR, the LED, the DPA 2018 or the PEC.
8.2 Both Parties will comply with all applicable requirements of the Data Protection Legislation. This clause is in addition to, and does not relieve, remove or replace, a party’s obligations under the Data Protection Legislation.
8.3 The Parties acknowledge that for the purposes of the Data Protection Legislation, the Member and SSAT are both separate Data Controllers.
Accordingly each Party shall:
8.3.1. Ensure that at all times it processes Personal Data in compliance with Data Protection Legislation and, without limiting the foregoing, shall ensure that the Processing of Personal Data and the provision of such data to the other Party is in compliance with the Data Protection Legislation;
8.3.2. Ensure that it only shares Personal Data with the other Party to the extent necessary in connection with the Contract and that neither Party shall transfer any Personal Data to the other Party that is irrelevant or excessive with regard to the purposes of the Contract;
8.3.3. Maintain a comprehensive register of all Personal Data Processed pursuant to this Contract in order to ensure compliance with Data Protection Legislation;
8.3.4. Register with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller and maintain such registration for the term of this Contract; and
8.3.5. Ensure that any Personal Data is accurate at the time it is provided to the other Party and will be updated thereafter as necessary from time to time
8.4. Where a Party (the “Recipient Party”) receives a request by any Data Subject to exercise any of their rights under the Data Protection Legislation in relation to Personal Data, the other Party will provide any information and/or assistance as reasonably requested by the Recipient Party to help it respond to the request at the Recipient Party’s cost
8.5. The Parties will assist each other in complying with the Data Protection Legislation with respect to Data Protection Impact Assessments, security, Personal Data Breach notifications, impact assessments and consultations with supervisory authorities or regulators.
8.6 Each Party shall notify the other of the name and contact details of its designated Data Protection Officer (or where the Party is not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer, the equivalent senior contact for data protection matters) and shall promptly inform the other of any changes in this regard. The relevant contact details for SSAT are listed in the SSAT Privacy Policy are updated from time to time, and available here.
