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What is an INSET day? (And why is it always a Monday you'd forgotten about?)
Debs · Updated 25 September 2026
The short answer
An INSET day is a staff training day: the school is open for teachers but closed to pupils. In England, maintained schools usually have up to five a year within their 195-day year. Each school chooses its own dates, so they often differ from the council's term dates and between schools, which is why they catch families out.
You find out about INSET days one of two ways. Either you read it in a newsletter in July and file it in the part of your brain that also holds your Wi-Fi password, or you arrive at a locked school gate with a lunchbox and a child who is thrilled about it. There's rarely a third way.
What an INSET day actually is
INSET stands for "in-service training". Teachers are in school, doing training, planning or marking; pupils stay home. Older parents may call them Baker days, after Kenneth Baker, the Education Secretary who brought them in during the late 1980s. They're not a secret, just scattered: in newsletters, letters, the school website and the occasional text the day before.
- England: maintained schools usually have up to 5 INSET days within a 195-day school year.
- Academies and free schools can set their own term and INSET dates.
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.
- INSET days are often next to a half term or the start of term, but not always.
The council's term dates don't tell you about INSET days. Your school does, usually once.
Left: your council publishes term and holiday dates, which most schools follow. Right: each school then adds its own INSET days, which is why two schools in the same town can be closed on different days.
Why your children's schools might not match
If your children are at different schools (a primary and a secondary, say), expect different INSET days. Each head chooses, and academies may not follow the council calendar at all. One child home, one child in: the logistics of a small airport.
Clubs and wraparound care usually close on INSET days too, and some holiday clubs open specially. So an INSET day isn't only "no school": it's no breakfast club, no after-school club and possibly a different pick-up.
Two schools, two sets of INSET days, one family calendar. That's the bit to get right.
How not to be caught out
Put every INSET day for every child on one family calendar the moment the dates are published, usually before the school year starts. Add a reminder a week before (for childcare) and the evening before (so nobody makes packed lunches). Check the school website each term, as dates are sometimes added later.
Where to find your INSET days
Check more than one place: dates can be added or changed during the year.
| Where | What you'll find | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| School website | Term dates page, sometimes a PDF | The official list |
| Newsletters | New or changed dates | Updates mid-year |
| Council website | Term and holiday dates | Planning ahead |
| Class WhatsApp | "Is Monday an INSET day?" | Double-checking only |
Mistakes we've all made
- Using the council's term dates and assuming the school has no INSET days.
- Remembering the younger child's INSET day and forgetting the older one's school has a different one.
- Booking holiday club for the INSET day and forgetting breakfast club also shuts.
- Trusting "I think it's the Monday" from the group chat over the school's own letter.
When to let an app do it (yes, another app, but hear us out)
Debs, your own school admin assistant, already knows the term dates and INSET days for local schools, and picks up new ones from your school's emails. She puts each child's school dates on one family calendar, skips their clubs on days the school is shut, and tells you a week before so you can sort childcare. See how it works.
Questions parents ask
What is an INSET day?
A staff training day. The school is open for teachers to train and plan, but closed to pupils. They're also called Baker days or teacher training days.
How many INSET days do schools have?
In England, maintained schools usually have up to five INSET days within a 195-day school year. Academies can set their own dates, and the rest of the UK has its own arrangements.
Why are my children's INSET days on different days?
Each school chooses its own INSET days, and academies can set their own term dates too. Children at different schools, or at a primary and a secondary, often have different ones.