School Year Term Dates and Planner

Who this is for

Every child's school year on one sheet. Enter each school's terms and inset days, then plan who covers each holiday and gap, and what it costs.

Working parents planning leave and childcare, families with children at different schools or different stages, and separated parents sharing school holidays.

What this helps you track

• Each child's first and last days of term
• Half-term dates and inset days for each school
• The holiday periods and who is covering each one
• Childcare booked and what it costs over the year
• Days when only one child is off school

How to use it

1. Write the school year and each child with their school at the top.
2. Copy each school's term dates, half-terms and inset days into the terms table, one row per term per child.
3. List every holiday, half-term and inset day in the gaps table with its first and last date.
4. Where only one child is off, enter how many days that applies to, so the mismatched days are counted.
5. Write who covers each gap, tick it when childcare is booked and enter the cost.
6. The weeks, days and totals are worked out in the browser and the workbook; update them when a school changes its dates.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do I find the term dates?

From each school's website, letters or the local authority that sets them. The sheet does not supply any dates, because they differ by school and by area, and inset days are set by each school.

How are the weeks at school worked out?

From the first to the last day of term, less the half-term break, divided by seven. It is a count of calendar weeks, not of individual school days, and inset days are listed beside it for you to take off.

How does it show where the schools differ?

In the gaps table, enter the number of days in each period when only one child is off. The summary adds them up, which is usually the figure that decides how much leave or extra childcare you need.

Can I use it for next year too?

Yes. Start a fresh copy for each school year; the browser version saves in your own browser and the workbook can be copied and cleared.