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

If you're trying to pin down UK school term dates for 2027 to 2028, the first thing to know is that there isn't one calendar to look at. The Department for Education (DfE) term and holiday dates guidance sets the framework, and the actual dates get set lower down. In England and Wales, each local authority (LA) picks term dates for its maintained schools, and academies, free schools and independents go off on their own on top of that. Scotland runs its own system through its 32 councils, and Northern Ireland sits somewhere in between.

What that means in practice: if your child goes to a community school in Birmingham, their calendar is Birmingham City Council's. A friend's child at a nearby academy in a multi-academy trust could be on completely different dates. Your neighbour's child in Solihull is on a third calendar. That's a lot of moving parts if you're trying to book leave, and the only reliable answer is to check the school's own website.

This guide covers the typical shape of the 2027 to 2028 school year across the UK, the statutory framework holding 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 usually carries across years.

Central government sets the statutory framework. Almost everything else is devolved.

In 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 independents set their own. gov.uk's term and holiday dates page routes you to the right LA calendar.

In Wales, the Welsh Government oversees the system and local authorities set dates for maintained schools. There's been a push over the last few years to align more across LAs, so the pattern is a bit more consistent than it is in England.

Scotland runs separately. The 32 Scottish councils each set their own dates, and the school year usually kicks off in mid-to-late August rather than September.

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Education publishes recommended common holiday dates and individual schools have some discretion on top. Most start around 1 September, and the Halloween break is often a 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 check 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 take two weeks; Nottinghamshire has proposed a break from 18 to 29 October 2027. The practical headache: if you've got 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 lines up almost universally with the Spring Bank Holiday on Monday 29 May 2028. For the week-level detail, see our UK school half-term dates 2027 to 2028 guide.

Scottish schools break the English and Welsh pattern in a few ways. The year starts earlier, with most Scottish LAs opening schools somewhere between 16 and 20 August 2027 rather than early September. There's no May half-term either, and Scottish schools break up for summer in late June, so the year ends earlier too. The October break (called the Tattie Holidays in some LAs) is usually one or two weeks mid-October, with exact dates set council by council.

If you're a parent moving between an English and Scottish LA, or you've got family either side of the border, the two calendars overlap in confusing ways. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, Aberdeen and the Highlands all publish their 2027 to 2028 calendars separately.

Academies are state-funded but set their own term dates. In practice, a lot of the bigger trusts (ARK, Oasis, Harris, Ormiston) align with the local authority to keep things sane for cross-trust families. Others don't, sometimes starting a week earlier in late August or taking a different half-term pattern. If your child is at an academy, don't assume the LA calendar applies to them; check the school's own website.

Independents usually finish summer term earlier (often early July) and start autumn term earlier too (often early September). They tend to take a two-week October half-term and a two-week February half-term rather than one week each. Easter and summer holidays run longer. Dates vary a lot 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's no national pattern; each school picks its own INSET dates and publishes them alongside term dates.

Common slots are 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.

Start with 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.

If you can't find it there, try 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.

For the devolved nations, Welsh Government, gov.scot or Education Authority Northern Ireland are the equivalent sources.

If you've got 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 that pay off if you plan them early.

Half-term travel prices spike. Flights, trains and family-friendly hotels push prices up 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, there may be room 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.

Block the year into your calendar now. Noting 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 sort family logistics.