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Terms and conditions 

Use of this site (https://nationalspaceacademy.org) is provided by the National Space Academy and subject to certain terms and conditions. Any use of the site constitutes your acceptance of, and agreement to, the following terms and conditions:

By using this website you agree to be legally bound by these terms, which take effect on your first use of https://nationalspaceacademy.org.


The National Space Academy may change these terms at any time. Please review the terms regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes made. Your continued use of https://nationalspaceacademy.org after changes are posted means you agree to be legally bound by these terms as updated.

The National Space Academy shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages whether in contract, tort or otherwise, arising from using https://nationalspaceacademy.org or the reliance on any information contained within.

The National Space Academy assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable for, any damages to, or viruses and worms that may damage your computer equipment or other property on account of your access to, use of, or browsing https://nationalspaceacademy.org.

In the case that https://nationalspaceacademy.org has a link contained within it and that link is used to access another website, the linked websites are not under control the direct control of the National Space Academy. The National Space Academy is not responsible for its content and potential damage to your computer. The links are provided for your convenience and it should be noted that the inclusion of any link on https://nationalspaceacademy.org does not imply endorsement by the National Space Academy of any kind.

By using https://nationalspaceacademy.org you accept that the information contained within it is provided by the National Space Academy on an "as is" and "as available" basis. You understand that the information is provided without warranty of any kind. The National Space Academy expressly disclaims all warranties, whether expressed or implied, including, but not limited to all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose, non-infringement and accuracy.

You may not copy, reproduce, republish, download, or make available to other parties, or otherwise use https://nationalspaceacademy.org content in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial and non-academic use. Moreover, you agree not to adapt, alter or create a derivative work from any https://nationalspaceacademy.org content except for your personal non-commercial and non-academic use. Any other use of the content of https://nationalspaceacademy.org requires prior written permission from the National Space Academy .

The names, images and logos identifying the National Space Academy or third-parties and their services or products are subject to copyright, design rights and trademarks of The National Space Academy and/or third-parties. Nothing contained in these terms shall be construed as conferring by implication or otherwise any license or right to use any trademark, patent, design right or copyright of the National Space Academy , or any other third-party.

These terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

National Space Academy
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Tel: +44 (0)116 258 2147

© Copyright 2016 National Space Academy

STEM event policy

Participation in STEM events:

The National Space Academy receives a large number of requests from organisations all over the UK to take part in STEM events. The following summarises the constraints on the Academy in terms of the support it can give to STEM events along with the reasoning behind this, for use when answering such requests.

1. The National Space Academy is a small scale employer, with a core team of only 7 people and a wider network of 25 seconded Lead Educators, who are all full time teachers in UK schools. The National Space Academy is not currently recruiting but when it does it recruits qualified and experienced teachers, or project managers with links to science communication. The Academy is supported by project scientists whose employers allow their time to be counted as an in-kind contribution. There are no paid vacancies at the Academy for scientists and researchers nor is there capacity for volunteer posts of any kind.

2. The National Space Academy's core team is employed to deliver: project management and administration, administration and support of the Lead Educator network, delivery of teaching on the Space Engineering course, delivery of student masterclasses and teacher CPD, delivery of careers conferences for the UK space sector, development of classroom ready educational resources. The Academy core team's remit does not specifically include attending STEM events or delivering activities other than those listed.

3. The National Space Academy is a not-for-profit arm of the National Space Centre, which is a charity. The Academy is required by its funders to work towards the aim of being self-funding for as much of its programme as possible. The support from these funders covers the salaries of the core team, the secondment fees for Lead Educators' schools, travel costs, and the overheads of running the office and online assets of the Academy.

4. The Academy has Key Performance Indicators set by its funders, including a number of students and teachers that it needs to reach each academic year – however these interactions must meet certain criteria in order to be counted. For both students and teachers this requires a minimum workshop time of 1 hour, and must include the Academy's curriculum-linked activities. These sessions must be educational with clear links to the science or maths curricula at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.

For the reasons above, the National Space Academy as a rule does not:

Hold stalls at market style careers or STEM events – talking to the public or even schoolchildren at these events does not meet any of the Academy's KPIs, and it is virtually impossible to show any evidence of impact from this kind of activityGive careers talks or talks about the space sector in schools for free, as this is in direct opposition to point 3.Deliver science busking or drop-in activities at market style events, again this does not meet any KPIs and does not yield evidence of impactPay to exhibit at eventsOffer work experience placements or volunteering opportunities, a list of existing external schemes for work experience and volunteering opportunities can be seen here (this list is not exhaustive nor does inclusion on the list indicate endorsement by the National Space Academy) - https://nationalspaceacademy.org/careers/careers-links without cost anything that does not meet the targets set out in 4Run activities at a financial loss

In exceptional circumstances, with the approval of the Academy Director or National Manager, the Academy will consider supporting external or partner organisations with activities which the Academy would not normally deliver – as long as this is not to the detriment of the Academy's core delivery.

To find out more about the kind of activities that the National Space Academy can deliver please see the following links: Student Masterclasses, Teacher training (CPD), Careers Conferences.

Policy updated July 2016.


Work Experience and Volunteering policy


The National Space Academy often receives requests for work experience and volunteering opportunities, from individuals, schools, and other organisatios. The following summarises the reasons why the Academy does not currently offer work experience.

1. The National Space Academy is a small scale employer, with a core team of only 7 people and a wider network of 25 seconded Lead Educators, who are all full time teachers in UK schools. The National Space Academy is not currently recruiting but when it does it recruits qualified and experienced teachers, or project managers with links to science communication. The Academy is also supported by project scientists whose employers allow their time to be counted as an in-kind contribution. There are no paid vacancies at the Academy for scientists and researchers nor is there capacity for any long term volunteer posts.

2. The National Space Academy's core team is employed to deliver: project management and administration, administration and support of the Lead Educator network, delivery of teaching on the Space Engineering course, delivery of student masterclasses and teacher CPD, delivery of careers conferences for the UK space sector, development of classroom ready educational resources, and delivery of international education projects. The Academy's resources and teacher guides are written by experienced teachers with input from scientists or engineers to ensure that quality and relevance are maintained.

3. The National Space Academy is a not-for-profit arm of the National Space Centre, which is a charity. The Academy is required by its funders to work towards the aim of being self-funding for as much of its programme as possible. The support from these funders covers the salaries of the core team, the secondment fees for Lead Educators' schools, and the overheads of running the office and online assets of the Academy.

4. The Academy has Key Performance Indicators set by its funders, including a number of students and teachers that it needs to reach each academic year – however these interactions must meet certain criteria in order to be counted. For both students and teachers this requires a minimum workshop time of 1 hour, and must include the Academy's curriculum-linked activities. These sessions must be educational with clear links to the science or maths curricula at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5, and they must be delivered by the Academy's Lead Educators or core team members with the relevant experience.

5. The Academy requires that all of its core team and Lead Educators have up-to-date DBS checks in order to comply with its safeguarding responsibilities and guidelines for working with young people. The Academy does bring in speakers who may not have had DBS checks, but they are always supervised by appropriate team members.

For the reasons above, the National Space Academy is not currently able to:

Offer work experience placements for students of any ageOffer science or engineering work placements of any kindBroker work experience placements with other organisations on behalf of studentsOffer full- or part-time volunteer or unpaid roles

A list of existing external schemes for work experience and volunteering opportunities can be seen here (this list is not exhaustive nor does inclusion on the list indicate endorsement by the National Space Academy).

Policy updated July 2016.