East Sussex School Term and Holiday Dates for 2027-2028

Overview

East Sussex County Council would like to hear your views on the proposed school term and holiday dates for the 2027–2028 academic year. It is proposed that the academic year would begin on 1 September 2027 and continue through to 21 July 2028, which would be the final day of term.

Term 1:  * Wednesday 1 September 2027 to Friday 22 October 2027 (38 days)

Term 2:  Monday 1 November 2027 to Friday 17 December 2027 (35 school days)

Term 3:  Tuesday 4 January 2028 to Friday 11 February 2028 (29 school days)

Term 4:  Monday 21 February 2028 to Friday 31 March 2028 (30 school days)

Term 5:  Tuesday 18 April 2028 to Friday 26 May 2028 (28 school days)

Term 6:  Monday 5 June 2028 to Friday 21 July 2028 (35 school days)

Total:  195 school days

*INSET Day

A calendar format of these dates is available to view below or can be downloaded  in the 'Related' section below.

Why your views matter

East Sussex County Council (the local authority) has a duty to determine school term and holiday dates for community and voluntary controlled schools. Academies, free schools, voluntary aided schools and foundation schools are responsible for setting their own dates.  They may choose dates that do not match those set by the local authority.  You are advised to contact those schools direct to check on their term dates as they may be different.

A number of 'guiding principles' are used to set the pattern of term and holiday dates. These include:

• Schools must be open for 190 days in an academic year, 195 days for teachers (a legal requirement).
• Five In-Service Education Training (INSET) days (a legal requirement). The proposal recommends a common INSET day on Wednesday 1 September 2027. Schools can then decide four further training days themselves.
• A pattern that is aligned, where possible, with neighbouring authorities (Brighton & Hove, West Sussex, Kent and Surrey).  This is to minimise childcare and holiday planning difficulties for parents and staff living and working across more than one authority area.
• The May break is normally aligned with the last bank holiday in May.
• Avoiding split weeks where possible.  To meet the statutory requirement for the number of teaching days (190) or because of a bank holiday it is inevitable that some terms will have split weeks.

Academies, free schools, voluntary aided schools, and foundation schools set their own term and holiday dates. This means dates can vary across the county. We are consulting all schools, including these types, to agree shared term and holiday dates for East Sussex as far as possible. Having the same dates helps support good attendance. It is also helpful for families with children in different schools.

Your views on the proposal for school term and holiday dates for 2027/2028 are important to us. We would welcome any suggestions on improving the school calendar in East Sussex.

To comment, click on ‘Online Survey’ below or email your comments to School.Consultations@eastsussex.gov.uk

Please submit your comments or survey responses by no later than Sunday 3rd May 2026.

Privacy information: This survey is anonymous, although we do ask you to complete an optional 'about you' section at the end. Please ensure that any comments you make do not include any names or personal details of you or anyone else. For more information about why we collect ‘about you’ information and how the data will be stored and processed by East Sussex County Council please click here