School holidays
The council's recommended term dates are shown below but schools can set different dates. Please check with your school. Contact details can be found in the schools directory.
School holiday and term dates 2025-2026
School holiday and term dates 2024-2025
School holiday and term dates 2023-2024
The recommended term dates have been published following consultation with schools, union representative and neighbouring local authorities.
Inset Days
Schools must open for 380 half-day sessions (190 days) in each school year, beginning with the first term to start after July.
This is consistent with the 195 days a year required by a teacher's statutory conditions of service - the additional five days are for in-service training (INSET). Please check with your child's school to find out the INSET dates they have planned.
Many INSET days are at the start or end of term which means that not all schools will start and end their terms at the same time.
Your child's school will let you know when their term starts and finishes and when they will close for staff training.