When are my school holidays?

Overview

When are my school holidays? 

As a member of school staff you should be aware of these in advance and can refer to your staff handbook and school calendar for more information.

All schools and academies set their own term dates so dates may vary from school to school. Please check details with individual schools.

This can be problematic if you are trying to take time off and your children are in school in a different local authority.

In this support article, we link to the GOV.UK school holiday checker tool, refer to examples of school holiday dates and what to do if you encounter an issue with your school holidays.

School holiday dates: when are they?

You can find your school term, half-term and holidays dates on your local council’s website. 

GOV.UK has created a tool, where you just need to enter your postcode which will redirect you to your council website. 

This is available in England and Wales only.

Local authorities tend to set out their school term and holiday dates in different formats. We look at a couple of examples below.

School term and holiday dates: examples

St Helens Borough Council has agreed the adoption of a standard school term and holiday pattern with the Greater Merseyside Authorities. The standard school holiday pattern for 2022-23 is below:

You can find the specific details of each individual school in the ‘related documents section’.

In the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham the term and holiday dates for 2022-2023 are:

The Christmas break starts on Monday 19 December 2022 and ends on Monday 2 January 2023.

The Easter break starts on Monday 3 April and ends on Friday 14 April 2023.

What should I do if I have booked a holiday in advance and the term dates have now changed?

If you are an Edapt subscriber you can contact us for further advice and support.

Similarly, if your INSET days have changed.

Normally it is seen as good practice to give at least 12 months notice for any changes to the school calendar, however, there is nothing stopping schools changing their term or holiday dates.