Find the correct dates for your nation, local council and school.
Term dates vary by nation, local council and sometimes individual school. Use the official finder for your area, then confirm the school's own inset and training days.
The United Kingdom has several education systems rather than one national school calendar. England and Wales commonly publish dates through local authorities, while Scotland and Northern Ireland follow their own arrangements. Even within the same area, academies, independent schools and individual schools may choose slightly different dates. A date that is correct for one child can therefore be wrong for another family only a short distance away.
Start with the official council or national education source for the school location. Then check the school's own calendar for inset days, teacher-training days, staggered starts, early finishes and local closures. Those details matter when arranging childcare because a school can be closed to pupils even though the broader local-authority term has technically started.
Term dates are useful when booking family travel, arranging annual leave, planning childcare, organising visits with relatives or coordinating activities between households. If children attend different schools, compare both calendars before booking. Families travelling between England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland should also check whether holiday periods overlap, because peak travel dates and accommodation prices can change sharply around local breaks.
A published term often contains a half-term break, so looking only at the first and last day of the term does not tell the whole story. For travel or care planning, note the half-term dates as well as the Christmas, Easter and summer breaks. Schools may describe these periods differently, but the practical question is the same: which days are pupils actually expected to attend?
This page is designed to help you find the right source, not to replace it. For flights, paid accommodation, attendance decisions or formal arrangements, verify the date with the actual school or responsible authority. That extra check is especially worthwhile near the beginning or end of a term, when school-specific training days are most likely to create a difference.