Academies and council dates: why schools differ
Reviewed 2026-09-08 · TermMinder
Two children can live on the same street, attend schools a few hundred metres apart, and start their summer holiday on different days. In England this is not a glitch. It is the system working as designed, and the reason usually comes down to one word: academy.
Who the council calendar binds
A council's term dates page looks authoritative, and it is, but only for a specific set of schools. Under section 32 of the Education Act 2002, the local authority determines term and holiday dates for community schools, voluntary controlled schools, community special schools and maintained nursery schools.
For foundation and voluntary aided schools, the Act hands the same power to the governing body. Academies are not covered by the section at all. GOV.UK's guide to school types explains that academies and free schools, run by not-for-profit academy trusts, "are independent from the local authority". Each trust sets its own calendar.
That covers a lot of children. The Department for Education's school census for 2025/26 reports that academies and free schools teach 83.6% of secondary pupils and 49.9% of primary pupils. At secondary level, the school most likely to diverge from the council table is the most common kind.
The caveat is printed on the page
Councils are upfront about this if you read the small print. Surrey warns that "Academies, Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools may have different term dates." Kent says "term dates for some schools may be different" and tells parents to contact the school about "individual half term breaks". Leicestershire notes that "some schools follow a different term-time pattern", even though the law requires 190 school days.
These are not boilerplate disclaimers. They are the councils telling you, accurately, where their authority ends.
Why academies may diverge
There are good reasons for an academy to stay close to the council calendar: families with children at different schools, school transport, and staff whose own children attend other local schools. Nothing obliges it to, though.
The differences that appear can be small but consequential: a different half term, as Kent's warning about "individual half term breaks" suggests, a different summer finish, or INSET days placed differently. The safest mental model is that the council table gives you the default and your school's own calendar gives you the truth.
Not sure what type your school is?
Many parents do not know whether their child's school is community, voluntary aided or an academy, and that distinction is exactly what decides whose calendar applies. The school's website usually says ("part of the such-and-such trust" is the tell-tale sign of an academy). If in doubt, ask the school office. The answer tells you whether the council table is binding or merely a good guide for your child.
What to do about it
Check two sources, not one. Start with the council's page to learn the area's pattern; GOV.UK's term dates finder will route you there from a postcode. Then confirm against the school's own published calendar.
Pay particular attention at three moments: the start of September, when INSET placement makes the first pupil day vary; the October half term, where Kent's warning about "individual half term breaks" applies; and the end of the summer term, where a day or two of difference directly affects holiday bookings.
If you have children at a maintained school and an academy in the same town, assume nothing. Compare both calendars line by line at the start of the year and put the actual dates, not the council's dates, into your family calendar.
TermMinder shows a published authority calendar with the scope beside it, and the finder helps you look up an authority or school by name. The public calendar link is useful for a council-level plan, but the school's own published calendar wins whenever the two differ. For the practical difference between authority dates and school-level closures, see how INSET days work.