Planning a family holiday around the school year

Planning a family holiday with children at school means finding a week that fits the school calendar. It also means checking that everyone's passport will do for the trip.

We read every rule and date on this page at its source on 29 October 2026.

Finding your school's holiday dates

Councils publish the term and holiday dates for their schools. Parents in England and Wales can find their council's page on GOV.UK by entering a postcode, and councils in Scotland list theirs through mygov.scot. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Education publishes the days schools close in each school year, and a school can choose to open on some of them.

Checking passports before you book

HM Passport Office asks people to wait until they hold a valid passport before they book travel.

A child under 16 needs a child passport, which lasts 5 years. Someone with parental responsibility for the child applies for it.

Most EU countries, and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, are in the Schengen area and follow one passport rule. GOV.UK sets it out in its travel advice for France (read 29 October 2026). Each passport needs an issue date less than 10 years before the day you arrive, and an expiry date at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave. A passport renewed before 1 October 2018 can carry an issue date more than 10 years old.

Travelling with your children

Before taking a child abroad, you need the permission of everyone else with parental responsibility for them, or of a court. GOV.UK says taking a child abroad without it is child abduction. A parent named in a child arrangements order as the one the child lives with can take them abroad for 28 days without asking, unless a court order says otherwise. A letter from that person is usually enough. It should give their contact details and the details of the trip, and border staff in the UK or abroad may ask to see it.

Health cover in Europe

Anyone ordinarily and legally resident in the UK can apply for a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) through the NHS website. Each person needs their own card, and a parent can add their partner and children to the same application. Applying is free, and the NHS warns that unofficial websites may charge a fee. The card lasts up to 5 years. It covers state healthcare that cannot wait until you are home, on the same terms as a local resident. The NHS advises taking private travel and medical insurance as well.

At Europe's borders

The EU's Entry/Exit System started on 12 October 2025. On a first visit to a Schengen country, border staff may ask each traveller for fingerprints and a photo. Children aged 11 or younger may have their photo taken, without fingerprints.

Families leaving through Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or Eurostar at St Pancras give these details before they leave the UK. The record lasts for 3 years. The government advises travellers to allow extra time at the border.

A week in term time

In England, parents can ask the school for permission in advance to take a child away in term time. The Department for Education's attendance guidance for England (July 2026 edition, read 29 October 2026) says it does not generally consider a holiday an exceptional circumstance (paragraph 37).

A school day in England has a morning session and an afternoon session, and the school takes the register in each (paragraph 32). The Department for Education sets a threshold of 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling 10 school weeks, so a week of holiday meets it on its own (paragraph 184). A state-funded school then has to consider whether a penalty notice is right in each case. A council can also issue one before the threshold is met, for example where parents take several shorter holidays in term time to stay under it (paragraph 188). For a holiday in term time, the guidance says a notice should be issued, subject to the further conditions it lists (paragraph 185).

A notice can go to each parent liable for the absence (paragraph 179). GOV.UK says a council can fine each parent £80, rising to £160 if it isn't paid within 21 days (paragraph 194, read 29 October 2026). A second fine for the same child within 3 years is £160. The same parent can get at most 2 notices for the same child in a rolling 3 years. If the threshold is met a third time in those 3 years, the guidance says other action should be taken instead, and that will often include considering prosecution (paragraph 194).

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each set their own attendance rules. The Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and nidirect publish their guidance for parents.