Sell teaching resources in the UK: a guide for British teacher-authors
UK teachers write some of the best-structured resources around, built for key stages, GCSE specifications and tight lesson timings. TeachLessons sells to teachers in the UK and abroad, and you can join from anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Short answer: Yes, UK teachers can sell teaching resources on TeachLessons. You apply with a short form, email your files to support@stifo.de, set your own prices in US dollars and keep 70% of net revenue. Payouts arrive monthly via PayPal in US dollars, and PayPal handles any conversion to pounds. There are no fees and no exclusivity.
Who buys UK teaching resources on TeachLessons?
Our buyers are teachers, schools and home-educating parents, mainly in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and international schools. That gives a UK author two audiences. Teachers in British schools want resources that match the National Curriculum, key stage expectations and exam board specifications. International schools, many of which follow an English-style curriculum, buy the same things and often struggle to find well-made material for it.
Resources that tend to suit this mix:
Key Stage 1 and 2
Phonics practice, times tables, SPaG, reading comprehension and foundation subject units written to National Curriculum year groups.
Key Stage 3
Year 7 to 9 schemes of work, knowledge organisers, retrieval quizzes and homework booklets.
GCSE and A level
Revision guides, exam-style practice you wrote, model answers and topic packs labelled by specification point.
How should I describe National Curriculum and GCSE coverage?
Be precise. A UK buyer wants to know the year group, key stage and, at GCSE and A level, which board and specification the resource is written for. "Year 5 fractions, National Curriculum objectives covered" or "GCSE History, written for the AQA specification, Paper 2 topics" tells a teacher whether to keep reading.
- Name the exam board and specification in plain text to describe what you cover. Don't put board logos on covers or previews, and don't claim a resource is endorsed unless the board has said so.
- Never include past paper questions, mark schemes or examiner reports. Write exam-style questions of your own. Our guide to selling exam revision resources covers this in detail.
- If you teach in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, say which curriculum the resource follows. A Curriculum for Excellence resource is a different product from a Key Stage 3 one.
- For an international audience, add the rough US grade equivalent in the description if it helps, for example "Year 4 (age 8-9)".
Should I change my British spelling or A4 layouts?
No. British spelling and A4 are exactly what UK and many international buyers want. "Colour", "organise", "maths" and "full stop" are a selling point for those teachers. What helps is saying so clearly in the Resource Submission List and description, so a US buyer doesn't buy a British-spelling phonics pack by mistake.
If you want to reach US and Canadian classrooms as well, you could make a separate US version with American spelling and US Letter layouts. Treat it as a separate resource with its own row in the list. For printables in general, see selling worksheets and printables.
How do payouts in US dollars work for UK sellers?
Prices on TeachLessons are in US dollars, and payouts go out once a month, by the 15th, for the previous month's sales, via PayPal in US dollars. Each payout comes with a statement listing every sale. If you hold your PayPal balance in pounds, PayPal converts the payment; its conversion rates and any fees are set by PayPal, so check them in your account.
| Your price | Payout per sale (USD) |
|---|---|
| $3.00 | $2.04 |
| $4.99 | $3.39 |
| $10.00 | $6.79 |
| $24.99 | $16.97 |
The payout is price x 0.97 (payment processing) x 0.70. Our suggestion is a minimum of $4.99 for a single resource, but you decide. The payout calculator shows any price. Think about the dollar price on its own terms rather than converting your usual pound price exactly; round, familiar prices like $4.99 or $9.99 are common.
What about tax and my teaching contract?
You are responsible for taxes on your own income. How resource sales are treated, and whether you need to register or report anything to HMRC, depends on your circumstances, so ask a tax advisor in the UK. If the law requires TeachLessons to withhold tax from a payout, it is deducted and you receive a confirmation. Monthly statements make record-keeping easier; our page on records and taxes for teacher-sellers has general tips.
Selling resources you wrote while employed by a school or academy trust is a separate question. Whether you can depends on your employment contract and local law. Check your contract, staff handbook or intellectual property policy, or ask your union. Keep a note of which resources you wrote in your own time and which you made for a specific school, so the question is easy to answer.
This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. The signed Seller Agreement, which is governed by German law, sets out the binding terms.
What rights checks should UK teachers make before selling?
Classroom resources often contain material that is fine to use with your own class but not to sell. Before sending, go through each resource for:
- Extracts from novels, poems and textbooks. Classroom use is one thing; selling copies is another. Use your own texts or works clearly out of copyright.
- School logos, trust branding and colleagues' names.
- Photos of students or their work. Resources must contain no personal data of real students.
- Fonts and clip art that are not licensed for commercial use in sold resources. Popular handwriting fonts used in UK primary schools often have their own licence terms, so check them.
TeachLessons does not check resources for third-party rights, so these checks are your responsibility. The Resource Rights Checklist we email you walks through them.
How do I join from the UK?
- Apply. Complete the short application form, about five minutes.
- Receive documents. We email the Seller Agreement, Seller Details and Payout Form, Resource Rights Checklist, Resource Submission List and Privacy Notice.
- Sign and list. Sign by hand or with a drawn electronic signature in a PDF app, then add one row per resource to the Excel sheet.
- Send one email. Send documents, files, previews and thumbnails (PNG or JPEG) to support@stifo.de, or one Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer link.
- Go live. We confirm within 2 business days, write your product pages and author page, and your resources go live once set up. There is no separate approval round, so send final versions.
You keep your copyright, can carry on selling the same resources in your own shop or elsewhere, and can remove a resource by email at any time (it takes effect within 60 days).
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell teaching resources from the UK if prices are in dollars?
Yes. You set prices in US dollars and are paid in US dollars via PayPal. PayPal can convert the money to pounds at its own rates.
Do I need to register with HMRC to sell resources?
That depends on your circumstances, and we can't give tax advice. You're responsible for taxes on your income, so ask a tax advisor in the UK.
Can I sell resources I made for my school?
It depends on your employment contract and local law. Check your contract or intellectual property policy, or ask your union.
Should I convert my resources to US spelling?
No. British spelling and A4 suit UK and many international buyers. Say clearly in the description that the resource uses British English.
Can I mention AQA, Edexcel or OCR in my GCSE resources?
You can name the board and specification in plain text to describe coverage. Leave logos out, don't copy past papers, and don't suggest the board endorses you.
What do I earn on a $10 GCSE revision pack?
You earn $6.79 per sale: $10 minus the $0.30 payment cost, then 70% of $9.70.
Ready to sell your teaching resources?
Apply with the short form. We email you the seller documents, you send your final files with previews and thumbnails, and we set up your product pages, your author page and landing pages. You keep 70% of net revenue, with no fees and no exclusivity.
Keep reading
General information about the TeachLessons Seller Program, not legal, tax or financial advice. The signed Seller Agreement sets out the binding terms. Questions: support@stifo.de.