East of England · Essex County Council
Essex term dates 2026-27
Essex County Council calendar for 2026-27: October half term 26 to 30 October 2026, then Christmas holidays from 21 December 2026.
Essex schools go back on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and the 2026-27 school year ends on Wednesday 21 July 2027, according to the calendar published by Essex County Council. October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026. Christmas holidays run from 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027, with pupils back on Monday 4 January 2027. February half term is 15 to 19 February 2027. The Easter holidays cover 26 March to 9 April 2027, taking in Good Friday and Easter Monday. May half term is 31 May to 4 June 2027. The summer holidays start on Thursday 22 July 2027. That leaves 195 weekdays in school after bank holidays, and each school then takes some of them as its own INSET days. Essex County Council had not published 2027-28 dates when we last checked. Dates read on Essex County Council's own web page on 12 October 2026.
Dates read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the dates are checked
What is particular about Essex
Essex County Council sets the published dates for community and voluntary controlled schools.
The 2026-27 calendar has 195 days: 74 in the autumn term, 54 in the spring term and 67 in the summer term.
Schools allocate five non-pupil days out of the school days shown, or the equivalent in disaggregated twilight sessions.
The calendar lists the May bank holiday on 3 May 2027 alongside the summer half term of 31 May to 4 June 2027.
The council page says there are 195 school days in a year and schools also have 5 days for staff training, and tells parents to contact the school to find out when they will be.
Essex lists the Easter bank holidays (Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March 2027) separately from the spring holiday (Easter) of 30 March to 9 April 2027.
Essex strongly advises parents to check with their child's school before making any holiday or other commitments.
Essex County Council School Term and Holiday Dates for Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools.
The above dates may vary for individual schools, especially Foundation, Voluntary Aided schools and Academies. You are strongly advised to check with your child's school before making any holiday or other commitments.
Essex term dates 2026-27
| Period | Dates | Weekdays |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn term (first half) | Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Friday 23 October 2026 | 39 |
| October half term | 26 to 30 October 2026 | 5 |
| Autumn term (second half) | Monday 2 November 2026 to Friday 18 December 2026 | 35 |
| Christmas holidays | 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 | 10 |
| Spring term (first half) | Monday 4 January 2027 to Friday 12 February 2027 | 30 |
| February half term | 15 to 19 February 2027 | 5 |
| Spring term (second half) | Monday 22 February 2027 to Thursday 25 March 2027 | 24 |
| Easter holidays | 26 March to 9 April 2027 | 11 |
| Summer term (first half) | Monday 12 April 2027 to Friday 28 May 2027 | 35 |
| May half term | 31 May to 4 June 2027 | 5 |
| Summer term (second half) | Monday 7 June 2027 to Wednesday 21 July 2027 | 33 |
| Summer holidays | 22 July to 31 August 2027 | 29 |
Bank holidays inside term time, with no school: Early May bank holiday (3 May 2027).
In addition, schools allocate five non-pupil days out of the school days indicated, or the equivalent in disaggregated twilight sessions.
Essex term dates 2027-28
Not read: the essex.gov.uk term dates page returns a bot challenge (HTTP 202, empty body) the latest Wayback copy of the Essex school terms and holidays page (30 September 2025) lists academic years only up to 2026 to 2027, and no 2027-28 calendar was found on secureschools.essex.gov.uk. To be checked again.
How Essex compares
Essex keeps the most common English dates for its october half term, february half term, easter holidays, may half term and summer holidays.
In the East of England region, Bedford, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Luton, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock share the same Easter break, while Norfolk and Suffolk use different Easter dates.