Is there a copyright exception for showing a video to school children?

There is an exception to copyright that means that showing a video or DVD to school children may not need a licence from the copyright owners. Whether or not the exception applies will largely depend on the particular circumstances, including the purpose of the showing. The exception will only apply if certain conditions are met:

• The video/DVD must be shown in an educational establishment. An 'educational establishment' is defined in copyright law as including any school (colleges offering further or higher education and universities are also 'educational establishments'). 'School' has the meaning given by education legislation:
• in relation to England and Wales, the Education Act 1996;
• in relation to Scotland, the Education (Scotland) Act 1962 (including approved schools under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968); and,
• in relation to Northern Ireland, the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

This could mean that play groups, holiday clubs and similar organisations may not fall within the definition of a school, and so may not count as an 'educational establishment'.

• The audience must consist only of the children, teachers and others connected with the activities of the school. This will not usually include parents, unless they are, for example, acting as a classroom assistant.
• The showing of the video/DVD must be for the purpose of instruction. Of course, there are some videos which are clearly educational and so will be instructional by themselves, but there are others whose main purpose is to entertain. These could still be used provided there is some instructional purpose. If the showing is used to initiate a discussion with a learning outcome, for example, this may be sufficient to meet this condition, but the showing of a video during a wet lunchtime only to entertain the pupils is unlikely to meet this condition.