North Tyneside School Holidays & Term Dates

Planning holidays, booking childcare, or just trying to remember when half term falls? Here are the official North Tyneside Council school term dates for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 academic years — the dates that apply to community and voluntary-controlled schools across the borough, including those in Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, North Shields, and Wallsend.

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2025-2026 Term Dates

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2026-2027 Term Dates

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INSET Days (Teacher Training Days)

Schools in North Tyneside are required to set aside five INSET days (also called teacher training days or staff development days) each academic year. On these days, the school is closed to pupils but open for staff training.

The important thing for parents to know is that INSET days vary from school to school. North Tyneside Council sets the term dates above, but each individual school chooses when to schedule its five training days within those dates. This means two schools in the same street could have different INSET days.

Most schools publish their INSET dates on their website at the start of the academic year. If you cannot find them, contact the school office directly.

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Do Academies Follow the Same Dates?

Not always. The term dates above are set by North Tyneside Council and apply to community and voluntary-controlled schools. Academies and free schools — which include several of the borough's largest schools — are legally free to set their own term dates.

In practice, most North Tyneside academies follow the council calendar closely, but there can be small differences. Kings Priory School in Tynemouth, for example, is part of the Woodard Academies Trust and generally aligns with the local authority dates, but parents should always check the school's own published calendar for confirmation.

Other academies in the area, such as Marden High School and John Spence Community High School, typically publish their own term date calendars on their websites each year. It is worth checking these directly rather than assuming they match the council dates exactly.

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Key Dates for Parents to Note

A few dates catch families out every year:

• The autumn term start in September often includes an INSET day on the first day back, meaning pupils may not return until a day or two after the official term start date.
• Easter moves every year. In 2026, Easter Sunday falls on 5 April. In 2027, it falls on 28 March. The council sets the Easter holiday around these dates, so the length of the spring and summer terms shifts accordingly.
• May Day bank holiday falls within the summer term (Monday 4 May 2026 and Monday 3 May 2027) and is an additional day off on top of the half-term week.
• The summer holiday is roughly six weeks, running from mid-July to the start of September.

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Where to Check the Official Dates

The definitive source for North Tyneside school term dates is the council's own website:

• North Tyneside Council - School Term Dates
• 2026-2027 Term Dates

For academy and free school dates, check the individual school's website. If your child attends a school that is part of a multi-academy trust, the trust's website may also publish term dates centrally.

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Planning Ahead

If you are booking holidays or arranging childcare, the key weeks to mark in your diary are:

• October half term — one week, typically the last full week of October
• Christmas — roughly two weeks, bridging late December and early January
• February half term — one week in mid-February
• Easter — approximately two weeks, dates shift with the Easter calendar
• May half term — one week at the end of May or start of June
• Summer — six weeks from mid-July to early September

North Tyneside Council typically publishes term dates at least two years ahead, so you can plan well in advance. The 2027-2028 dates are already available on the council website.

Best for: Always confirm dates with your child's school. Academies may differ from the council calendar, and INSET days vary between schools.