UK school term dates 2027-2028: A parent's guide

The first thing to say about UK school term dates for 2027 to 2028 is that there is no national calendar. The Department for Education (DfE) term and holiday dates guidance sets the framework, and local authorities set the actual dates. In England and Wales, each local authority (LA) sets term dates for its maintained schools, and academies, free schools and independent schools set their own on top of that. Scotland runs an entirely separate system through its 32 councils, and Northern Ireland sits somewhere in between.

The upshot: if your child goes to a community school in Birmingham, their calendar is set by Birmingham City Council. If they go to a nearby academy in a multi-academy trust, their dates could be the same or completely different. Your neighbour's child in Solihull is on a third calendar. That is a lot of moving parts for working parents, and the only reliable answer is to check your specific school's website.

This guide covers the typical shape of the 2027 to 2028 school year across the UK, the statutory framework that holds it together, and how to pin down your own school's exact dates. For reference, our UK school term dates 2026 to 2027 guide follows the same structure and shows how the pattern typically carries across years.

The statutory framework is set by central government, but almost everything else is devolved.

England. Local authorities set term dates for community, voluntary-controlled, community special and maintained nursery schools. Academies, free schools, foundation schools, voluntary-aided schools and independent schools set their own dates. gov.uk's term and holiday dates page routes parents to the right local authority calendar.

Wales. The Welsh Government oversees the system; local authorities set dates for maintained schools. Welsh Government has pushed for more alignment across LAs in recent years, so the pattern is a little more consistent than in England.

Scotland. Separate system entirely. The 32 Scottish councils each set their own dates and the school year typically starts in mid-to-late August, not September.

Northern Ireland. The Department of Education publishes recommended common holiday dates, but individual schools have some discretion. Most start around 1 September; the Halloween break is often a shorter two-day break rather than a full week.

Most English and Welsh LAs follow a broadly similar shape: three terms, each split by a half-term break. The dates in the table below are typical for 2027 to 2028. Treat them as a guide and verify with your LA or school.

The October half-term is the only one that splits noticeably across England. Almost all LAs close for the week commencing 25 October 2027, including all Welsh councils. A few may take two weeks; Nottinghamshire has proposed a break from 18 to 29 October 2027. The practical headache: if you have children at a school on one calendar and childcare on another, the mismatch can be two full weeks apart.

February half-term is mostly the week commencing 14 February 2028 in England, while all Welsh councils take the week commencing 21 February 2028. May half-term aligns almost universally to the Spring Bank Holiday on Monday 29 May 2028. For the week-level detail, see our dedicated UK school half-term dates 2027 to 2028 guide.

Scottish schools break the English and Welsh pattern in three important ways.

First, the year starts earlier. Most Scottish LAs open schools between around 16 and 20 August 2027, not early September. Second, there is no May half-term; Scottish schools break up for summer in late June, so the year ends earlier. Third, the October break (called the Tattie Holidays in some LAs) is typically one or two weeks mid-October, with exact dates set council by council.

If you are a parent moving between an English and Scottish LA, or have cross-border family, the two calendars overlap in confusing ways. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, Aberdeen and the Highlands all publish their 2027 to 2028 calendars separately.

Academies. Academies are state-funded but set their own term dates. In practice many large trusts (ARK, Oasis, Harris, Ormiston) align their calendars with the local authority to avoid chaos for cross-trust families. Others diverge, sometimes starting a week earlier in late August or taking a different half-term pattern. If your child is at an academy, do not assume the LA calendar applies, check the school's own website.

Independent schools. Private schools usually finish summer term earlier (often early July) and start autumn term earlier (often early September). They typically take a two-week October half-term and a two-week February half-term rather than one week. Easter and summer holidays run longer. Dates vary significantly between independents, so the only reliable source is each school's own calendar.

Up to five of the 195 school days each year are set aside as non-teaching INSET days (short for in-service training). Schools use these for staff development. There is no national pattern; each school picks its own INSET dates and publishes them alongside term dates.

Common slots include the first day of September (so pupils return a day after staff), one before Christmas, one in January, and one or two in the summer term. INSET days are a frequent source of parent confusion because they can shorten what looks like a full week.

Three places to check, in this order:

1. Your child's school website. Most schools publish term dates and INSET days under a "Term dates" or "Parents" tab. This is always the most reliable source, it accounts for academy divergence, independent-school patterns and INSET days.

2. Your local authority's term dates page. Reliable for maintained schools, less reliable for academies and free schools. gov.uk has a postcode finder that routes you to the right LA page.

3. Welsh Government, gov.scot or Education Authority Northern Ireland for the equivalent devolved sources.

If you have children at more than one school, cross-check them side by side. Mismatches on INSET days and half-term weeks are one of the most common causes of childcare headaches.

A few things worth planning around early:

Half-term travel prices spike. Flights, trains and family-friendly hotels push prices by a lot during half-term weeks, so booking three or more months ahead usually saves money. If your LA takes w/c 25 October 2027 and your partner's company shuts for w/c 18 October, you may be able to coordinate.

Childcare clubs fill up fast. Local council holiday clubs, sports camps and private providers tend to open bookings 4 to 8 weeks before each school break. The popular ones close waitlists quickly.

Build the year into your calendar now. Blocking out half-term weeks, Christmas, Easter and summer in September gives you a clearer sense of when to book leave, when to plan around work travel and when to embed family logistics.