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How to add school term dates and holidays to Google or Apple Calendar
Debs · 5 October 2026
The short answer
To add school holidays to Google Calendar, find your school's term dates (on the school's or council's website), then either subscribe to the school's calendar link if it has one (on a computer: Other calendars, From URL) or add each holiday as an all-day event. In Apple Calendar, tap the calendar link and choose Subscribe, or on a Mac use File, New Calendar Subscription. Check your own school's INSET days, because each school chooses its own.
It's September. You print the school's term dates, stick them on the fridge, and feel briefly like a person who has it together. By October the sheet is under a dinosaur drawing, and the INSET day you meant to put in your calendar is tomorrow. The fix is getting the dates out of the PDF and into the calendar on your phone, where your partner (and the grandparents doing pick-up) can see them too.
Where to find your school's term dates
In England and Wales, councils set term dates for the schools they run, but academies, free schools and many church schools set their own, and every school chooses its own INSET days. So the council's list is a start, and the school's own website or newsletter is the one to trust. Our guide to what an INSET day is explains why they're different for every school.
- The school website: usually under Parents, Term dates or Calendar.
- The council website, for schools the council runs.
- The school newsletter, or the first email of term.
- A calendar link, if the school offers one: look for "Subscribe", "iCal" or ".ics".
The council's dates are the start. Your school's own INSET days are the bit that catches you out.
Left: the school's term dates sheet. Right: the same dates in a calendar the whole family can see, with a reminder the day before.
How to add school holidays to Google Calendar
If the school has a calendar link: on a computer, open Google Calendar, click the plus next to Other calendars, choose From URL, paste the link and click Add calendar. It appears on your phone too, and updates when the school changes it, although Google can take several hours to pick up changes. You can't add a calendar link from the Google Calendar phone app, so this bit needs a computer.
If there's no link: make a calendar called "School" (Other calendars, Create new calendar), then add each holiday, half term and INSET day as an all-day event in it, and share it with your partner from the calendar's settings. While you're there, add Google's UK holidays calendar (Other calendars, Browse calendars of interest) for the bank holidays. It takes about fifteen minutes once a year, and the only risk is the school changing a date after you've typed it.
Fifteen minutes in September saves an 8am phone call to your mum in May.
How to add school holidays to Apple Calendar on iPhone or Mac
If you have a calendar link, the quickest way is to tap it on your iPhone (links starting webcal:// open straight into Calendar) and choose Subscribe. Or go to Settings, Calendar (under Apps on newer iPhones), Calendar Accounts, Add Account, Other, Add Subscribed Calendar, and paste the link. On a Mac, open Calendar and choose File, New Calendar Subscription. No link? Make a "School" calendar, add the dates as all-day events, and share it with your family from the calendar's info button. Got a wall screen too? Here's how to get school dates on a Skylight.
Ways to get school dates in your calendar
From the most typing to the least.
| Effort | Stays up to date? | |
|---|---|---|
| Typing dates from the PDF | About 15 minutes a year | Only if you re-check |
| Subscribing to the school's calendar link | 2 minutes, if there is one | Yes, when the school updates it |
| Google's UK holidays calendar | 1 minute | Bank holidays only |
| Debs's live calendar link | 2 minutes | Yes: term dates, INSET days and the school's emails |
Mistakes we've all made
- Copying the council's dates when your child's school is an academy with its own.
- Adding the dates to your calendar only, so your partner still asks "is it half term?"
- Forgetting the INSET days either side of half term.
- Subscribing to a link the school stopped updating two years ago.
Your school's dates, already in
Debs, your own school admin assistant, knows every school in the UK. It reads your school's own website for its term dates and INSET days, and checks it every week for changes. Add your children and their schools and the dates are on the family calendar, on every plan. Then copy Debs's live calendar link (Settings, Live calendar & wall display) into Google, Apple or Outlook Calendar, and the term dates, INSET days and everything from the school emails show up there and keep themselves up to date. Debs and Google Calendar.
Questions parents ask
How do I add school holidays to my Google Calendar?
If your school has a calendar link, add it on a computer under Other calendars, From URL. If not, make a "School" calendar and add each holiday, half term and INSET day as an all-day event.
How do I add school term dates to my iPhone calendar?
Tap the school's calendar link and choose Subscribe, or add it in Settings under Calendar Accounts, Add Account, Other, Add Subscribed Calendar. Without a link, add the dates as all-day events in a shared calendar.
Where can I find my school's term dates?
On the school's website, usually under Parents or Term dates. Council websites list dates for the schools they run, but academies and many church schools set their own, and every school chooses its own INSET days.
Do school term dates include INSET days?
Not always. Council term dates often leave INSET days out, because each school chooses its own. Check the school's website or newsletter.
Can I share school holidays with my partner's calendar?
Yes. Put them in a separate "School" calendar and share it from Google Calendar or Apple Calendar, so you both see the same dates and changes.