United Kingdom school calendar guides

Practical help for checking dates, understanding school exceptions and keeping a useful calendar.

• Academies and council dates: why schools differ

  Academies set their own term dates and need not follow the council calendar. Who the council table binds, why academies may diverge, and what to check.

• Add school term dates to your phone calendar

  Subscribe to school dates in Apple or Google Calendar, understand updates, and check the school exceptions that an authority feed cannot cover.

• Why the Easter break moves every year

  Easter follows the moon, not the calendar, so the spring school break moves from year to year. How Kent, Edinburgh and Northern Ireland fit their 2026/27 holidays around it.

• October half term 2026: why England splits in two

  In autumn 2026 English councils split between an early half term week and a late one, and Surrey takes both. The dates, with sources, and what to check.

• Who sets school term dates in England?

  England has no national school calendar. Here is who sets term dates by law, why neighbouring counties differ, and where to check for your child's school.

• How TermMinder checks a date before publishing it

  Understand TermMinder's official sources, date checks, verification labels and school-specific limits before using a calendar to make plans.

• INSET days explained: why councils don't list them

  INSET days are staff training days when pupils stay home. Where the five days come from, why council tables leave them out, and how to find your school's.

• Northern Ireland's common school calendar

  Northern Ireland publishes one school calendar each year, but schools keep development days and some discretion. How the system works for parents.

• School date reminders that actually matter

  Not every school date needs an alarm. The three that do, term start, break-up day and INSET days, and how to set reminders that arrive in time.

• Scotland's school year: the August start explained

  Scottish schools go back in mid-August, take an October week and finish in June. How council-set calendars work in Scotland, with Edinburgh as the example.

• Term dates and holiday prices: a parent's guide

  School term dates decide when every family travels. How knowing your own council's weeks helps, and the fines for term-time holidays in England.

• The 190-day school year: how pupil days are counted

  English schools must hold 380 sessions a year: 190 days with pupils. How the count works, where the five INSET days fit, and why it shapes every calendar.

• Why your district council sends you to the county

  In a two-tier area your district or borough council does not set school term dates. The county council does. How to find the right one.

• Wales: how the national school calendar works

  Welsh law coordinates term dates and lets ministers direct a common calendar. The 2026/27 dates, the Powys exception, and school-level caveats.

• When do schools break up for summer 2027?

  Summer 2027 break-up dates run from 29 June in Edinburgh to 28 July in Surrey. The official dates for each UK nation and how to find your own council's.