Consultancy Services T&Cs

1. About These Terms

These Terms and Conditions apply to educational consultancy services provided by TeachingPlans.ie to companies, charities, non-governmental organisations, schools, educational institutions and other clients.

TeachingPlans.ie is owned and operated by:

Teaching Plans (Ireland) Limited
Company Registration Number: 711858
Registered business address: County Laois, Ireland
Email: info@teachingplans.ie

These Terms and Conditions should be read together with the relevant proposal, quotation, project plan, statement of work, invoice or other written agreement issued for the project.

If there is a conflict between these general Terms and Conditions and a project-specific written agreement, the project-specific agreement will take precedence in relation to that project.

2. Scope of Services

TeachingPlans.ie provides educational consultancy services that may include:

Lesson-plan development.
Teaching-resource development.
Educational content writing.
Programme or course design.
Review and improvement of existing materials.
Curriculum-related advice.
Content and social media consultancy.
Educational communications and promotional content.
Webinars, presentations or training.
Other related services agreed in writing.

The precise scope, deliverables, format, intended audience, timeline and fee will be set out in the relevant proposal or agreement.

TeachingPlans.ie is responsible only for the services and deliverables expressly agreed. Any additional work will be subject to further agreement and may incur an additional fee.

3. Proposals and Acceptance

A proposal or quotation will remain valid for the period stated in it. If no period is stated, TeachingPlans.ie may withdraw or revise the proposal at any time before it is accepted.

A project will be considered confirmed when:

The client accepts the proposal or agreement in writing.
Any required deposit or advance payment has been received.
Any information or materials required to begin the work have been supplied.

Acceptance may be confirmed by signed agreement, email, payment of a deposit or another method agreed between the parties.

4. Client Responsibilities

The client must:

Provide accurate and complete instructions.
Clearly identify the intended audience, purpose and required format.
Supply any necessary brand guidelines, existing materials, source documents or background information.
Ensure that it has the necessary rights to provide materials to TeachingPlans.ie.
Provide feedback, approvals and decisions within the agreed timeframe.
Identify any legal, regulatory, accessibility, safeguarding, curriculum or organisational requirements that apply specifically to the client.
Nominate an appropriate person with authority to provide instructions and approve work.

TeachingPlans.ie may rely on information, instructions and approvals supplied by the client.

A delay, omission or change on the client’s part may affect the project timeline, delivery date and fee. TeachingPlans.ie will not be responsible for a delay caused by the client’s failure to provide required information, materials, feedback or approval.

5. Project Timelines

Any project timeline or delivery date will be based on the information available when the project is agreed.

Unless expressly stated to be a fixed deadline, dates are reasonable estimates and may be adjusted where:

The project scope changes.
The client delays in providing information, feedback or approval.
Additional work is requested.
A third-party dependency causes delay.
Circumstances outside the reasonable control of TeachingPlans.ie affect delivery.

TeachingPlans.ie will notify the client as soon as reasonably practicable where a significant delay is anticipated.

6. Drafts, Feedback and Revisions

The number and scope of drafts, feedback stages and revision rounds included in the agreed fee will be stated in the relevant proposal or project agreement.

Revisions must relate to the original agreed scope. They do not include:

A substantial change in direction.
A change to the intended audience or purpose.
New deliverables.
Rewriting previously approved material.
Revisions resulting from incomplete or inaccurate original instructions.
Changes required because the client introduces new information after work has begun.

Work outside the included revision allowance may incur an additional fee. TeachingPlans.ie will notify the client before undertaking materially additional chargeable work.

The client should provide feedback in a clear and consolidated form. Conflicting or piecemeal feedback from multiple people may result in delays or additional charges.

7. Changes to the Project Scope

Either party may propose a change to the project scope.

A change will take effect only when its effect on the deliverables, fee and timeline has been agreed in writing.

TeachingPlans.ie is not required to begin additional or changed work until the revised arrangements have been confirmed.

Where requested changes substantially alter the project, TeachingPlans.ie may issue a new proposal or treat the additional work as a separate project.

8. Fees and Payment

Fees and payment stages will be set out in the relevant proposal, invoice or consultancy agreement.

The payment structure may include:

An upfront deposit.
Advance payment.
Payment by agreed instalments.
Milestone payments.
Payment following delivery.

A deposit or advance payment may be required before work begins. Unless otherwise stated, a deposit is applied towards the total project fee.

Invoices must be paid within the period stated on the invoice. Where no payment period is stated, payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date.

TeachingPlans.ie may pause or withhold work, deliverables or intellectual-property rights while an invoice remains overdue.

Late payments may be subject to applicable statutory interest and recovery costs. The client will also be responsible for reasonable costs incurred in recovering an overdue amount, to the extent permitted by law.

9. Additional Work and Expenses

Work outside the agreed scope will be charged at the rate stated in the proposal or at a rate agreed before the additional work begins.

Reasonable third-party costs or expenses will be charged to the client only where:

They were included in the proposal.
The client approved them in advance.
They were reasonably necessary to complete the agreed work and could not reasonably have been anticipated.

Examples may include specialist software, licensed images, printing, postage, travel or third-party professional services.

10. Intellectual Property in Client Materials

The client retains ownership of materials it supplies to TeachingPlans.ie.

The client grants TeachingPlans.ie a limited right to use those materials solely to provide the agreed services.

The client confirms that it has the necessary ownership, permission or licence to provide and authorise the use of those materials. The client is responsible for any claim arising from materials it has supplied without the required rights or permissions.

TeachingPlans.ie will not use the client’s confidential or proprietary materials for another purpose except with permission or where required by law.

11. TeachingPlans.ie Background Materials

TeachingPlans.ie retains ownership of all materials, knowledge and intellectual property developed independently of the project or used generally across its work. These may include:

Pre-existing templates.
General frameworks.
Working methods.
Processes.
Know-how.
Research techniques.
Generic educational structures.
Standard clauses or instructions.
Business systems.
Materials developed before the project.

These are referred to as “Background Materials.”

Where Background Materials are incorporated into a client deliverable, the client will receive the right to use them only as part of that deliverable and for the purposes agreed. Ownership of the underlying Background Materials does not transfer unless expressly agreed in writing.

12. Ownership and Use of Project Deliverables

The relevant proposal or consultancy agreement will specify whether the client receives:

Ownership of the final deliverables.
An exclusive licence.
A non-exclusive licence.
A licence limited to particular purposes, users, territories or formats.

Where the agreement expressly provides for ownership to transfer to the client, that transfer will take effect only after TeachingPlans.ie has received full payment of all amounts due for the project.

Any transfer of ownership applies only to the final deliverables expressly identified in the agreement. It does not include:

TeachingPlans.ie Background Materials.
Unused drafts.
Rejected concepts.
Working files.
Research notes.
Processes.
Third-party materials.

Where the agreement does not expressly transfer ownership, TeachingPlans.ie retains ownership and grants the client a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the final deliverables for the purpose identified in the proposal.

The client may not resell, sublicense, commercially distribute or make the deliverables available to another organisation unless the agreed ownership or licence terms expressly permit this.

13. Drafts and Working Files

Unless otherwise agreed, the client is entitled only to the final deliverables identified in the project agreement.

Drafts, unused concepts, editable source files, internal notes, research records and working materials are not included unless expressly stated.

The client must not publish, distribute or rely upon a draft as a final approved deliverable without the written agreement of TeachingPlans.ie.

14. Third-Party Materials

Deliverables may include or refer to third-party materials such as:

Curriculum documents.
Official guidance.
Images.
Fonts.
Software.
Website tools.
Externally published content.

Third-party materials remain subject to their respective ownership, licence and usage conditions. TeachingPlans.ie cannot transfer ownership of material belonging to a third party.

The client is responsible for complying with any third-party licence or attribution requirement communicated in connection with the deliverables.

15. Portfolio Use and Publicity

TeachingPlans.ie will not publicly disclose confidential client information or unpublished project materials without permission.

Following public release of a project, TeachingPlans.ie may refer to the general nature of the work in its professional portfolio or business communications only where:

The client has agreed.
The information is already legitimately public.
The reference does not reveal confidential or commercially sensitive information.

TeachingPlans.ie will not use the client’s name, logo or testimonial for promotional purposes without permission.

16. Confidentiality

Each party agrees to keep confidential any non-public commercial, educational, technical or organisational information received from the other party in connection with the project.

Confidential information may be used only for the purpose of providing, receiving or evaluating the agreed services.

This obligation does not apply to information that:

Was already lawfully known to the receiving party.
Becomes publicly available other than through a breach of confidentiality.
Is lawfully received from a third party without a confidentiality obligation.
Is independently developed without using the confidential information.
Must be disclosed by law, court order or a competent authority.

Where disclosure is legally required, the receiving party will, where lawful and reasonably practicable, notify the other party before disclosure.

17. Personal Data and Pupil Information

Each party must comply with the data-protection obligations applicable to its role in the project.

The client should not provide TeachingPlans.ie with identifiable or sensitive information about pupils, staff members or other individuals unless this is necessary, lawful and agreed in advance.

Where possible, examples and documents should be anonymised before they are shared.

If TeachingPlans.ie will process personal data on behalf of the client, the parties will enter into any data-processing agreement required by law before that processing begins.

Personal data handled by TeachingPlans.ie for its own business-administration purposes will be processed in accordance with the TeachingPlans.ie Privacy Policy.

18. Educational and Professional Responsibility

TeachingPlans.ie will provide the agreed services with reasonable care and skill and with reference to the instructions, sources and educational context identified for the project.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise, consultancy materials do not constitute official approval or advice from:

The Department of Education and Youth.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
Oide.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
Any other public body.

Educational curricula, published guidance, terminology and professional practices may change.

The client is responsible for:

Undertaking its own final review.
Determining whether the deliverables are suitable for their intended audience and purpose.
Ensuring compliance with its policies.
Obtaining any required legal, regulatory, professional, safeguarding, accessibility or curriculum approval.

19. Approval and Publication

The client is responsible for reviewing the final deliverables and identifying any factual errors, omissions or required changes before approval, publication or implementation.

Approval may be given by email or through another agreed method.

Once a deliverable has been approved, changes requested afterwards may be treated as additional work.

TeachingPlans.ie is not responsible for:

Changes made to the deliverables by the client or another person after delivery.
Use of the deliverables for a purpose outside the agreed scope.
Publication of an unapproved draft.
Errors introduced during the client’s formatting, editing, translation, printing or publication process.

20. Warranties and Outcomes

TeachingPlans.ie will provide the consultancy services with reasonable care and skill.

TeachingPlans.ie does not guarantee:

A particular educational outcome.
A particular level of engagement, sales, reach or commercial performance.
Approval by a public body, school, funder or other third party.
That a recommendation will remain suitable following future changes to law, guidance, curriculum or technology.
That third-party platforms or services will remain available or unchanged.

Any specific commitment or performance measure must be expressly set out in the project agreement.

21. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, TeachingPlans.ie will not be liable for:

Indirect or consequential loss.
Loss of profit or opportunity.
Loss arising from circumstances outside its reasonable control.
Loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when the agreement was made.

Where liability may lawfully be limited, the total liability of TeachingPlans.ie arising from a consultancy project will not exceed the total fees paid or payable for the project giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

22. Suspension of Services

TeachingPlans.ie may suspend work where:

An invoice is overdue.
The client has not provided information, materials, feedback or approval required to continue.
The client requests work outside the agreed scope without agreeing revised terms.
Continuing the work would create a legal, ethical, reputational or safeguarding concern.
The client materially breaches these Terms and Conditions or the project agreement.

TeachingPlans.ie will notify the client of the reason for suspension and, where appropriate, the steps required for work to resume.

A suspension caused by the client may affect the project timeline and may result in additional charges where TeachingPlans.ie must reschedule the work.

23. Termination by the Client

The client may terminate a project by providing written notice.

If the client terminates the project, the client must pay:

Fees for all work completed up to the termination date.
A reasonable amount for work begun but not yet completed.
Any agreed or non-cancellable third-party costs.
Any cancellation amount expressly stated in the project agreement.

An agreed deposit may be retained and applied towards the amounts due.

Where the amount already paid exceeds the total properly due following termination, the balance will be refunded. Where the amount paid is insufficient, TeachingPlans.ie may issue an invoice for the outstanding balance.

The client will receive only those completed deliverables for which full payment has been made, subject to the applicable intellectual-property terms.

24. Termination by TeachingPlans.ie

TeachingPlans.ie may terminate a project by written notice where:

The client fails to make a payment when due.
The client repeatedly fails to provide necessary instructions, information or feedback.
The client materially breaches the agreement.
The client requests unlawful, misleading, discriminatory, unethical or professionally inappropriate work.
Continuing the project would create an unreasonable legal, ethical, safeguarding or reputational risk.

TeachingPlans.ie may terminate without client fault where illness, incapacity or another serious circumstance prevents delivery. In that situation, the client will receive a refund of any payment relating to work that will not be completed.

Termination does not affect rights, liabilities or payment obligations that arose before termination.

25. Events Outside Reasonable Control

Neither party will be liable for a delay or failure caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control.

These may include:

Serious illness.
Power or internet failure.
Cyberattack.
Natural disaster.
Industrial action.
Government action.
Failure of a critical third-party service.
Another event that could not reasonably have been prevented.

The affected party will notify the other as soon as reasonably practicable and will take reasonable steps to reduce the effect of the disruption.

If the disruption prevents completion of the project for an extended period, either party may terminate the agreement. The client will remain responsible for properly completed work and agreed costs incurred before termination.

26. Independent Contractor

Teaching Plans (Ireland) Limited provides consultancy services as an independent contractor.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions creates:

An employment relationship.
A partnership.
A joint venture.
A fiduciary relationship.
An agency between the parties.

Neither party has authority to enter into an agreement or incur a liability on behalf of the other unless expressly authorised in writing.

27. Subcontracting and Specialist Support

TeachingPlans.ie will remain responsible for the agreed services but may engage a suitably qualified subcontractor or specialist where reasonably necessary.

Confidential or personal information will not be disclosed to a subcontractor unless:

Disclosure is necessary.
Appropriate safeguards are in place.
Disclosure is permitted under the agreement and applicable law.

Where the identity of the individual providing the service is a material part of the client’s decision, this may be addressed in the project agreement.

28. Notices and Communications

Project instructions, approvals, change requests, termination notices and other important communications should be provided in writing by email or another agreed method.

Each party is responsible for ensuring that its contact information remains accurate and that relevant communications are reviewed promptly.

29. Changes to These Terms

The version of these Terms and Conditions in effect when a project is agreed will apply to that project.

TeachingPlans.ie may update these general terms for future projects. An update will not retrospectively change an existing agreement unless:

The change is required by law.
Both parties agree to it in writing.

30. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms and Conditions and the associated consultancy agreement are governed by Irish law.

The parties are encouraged to attempt to resolve a dispute through direct, good-faith communication.

The parties may agree to mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution. Mediation or arbitration is not mandatory unless both parties expressly agree to it.

Any unresolved dispute may be brought before the courts of Ireland, subject to any mandatory jurisdictional rules that apply.

31. Severability

If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be treated as modified or removed only to the extent necessary.

The remaining provisions will continue to apply.

32. Entire Agreement

These Terms and Conditions, together with the accepted proposal, quotation, statement of work and any other document expressly incorporated into the agreement, constitute the agreement between the parties concerning the project.

The client should ensure that any requirement or commitment on which it intends to rely is recorded in writing.

33. Contact Details