School Holidays After Divorce

How school holidays are typically split

School holiday arrangements are usually set out in the child arrangements order or parenting plan. Common patterns include:

• Half-half split: Each parent takes half of each holiday period (e.g., Easter: one parent takes first week, other takes second week)
• Alternating holidays: Parents alternate which parent takes which holidays year-on-year (e.g., parent A has Christmas 2026, parent B has Christmas 2027)
• Key dates: Specific arrangements for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Easter, and summer holiday breaks
• Flexible: Parents discuss and agree on holiday time as it comes, without a set pattern

The most important thing is clarity — both parents should know in advance who has the child during each holiday period.

Transition days

A transition day is a handover day that often falls outside the regular weekly pattern. For example:

• The day school breaks up (last day of term) or returns (first day of term)
• A neutral day between one parent's holiday period and the next (e.g., if parent A has the child until Friday of the Easter holiday, parent B starts Saturday)

Transition days reduce conflict — instead of handing the child over mid-holiday, you use school term dates as natural handover points. This works well if the parents can be flexible about the exact days.

Clear holiday schedules help both parents plan time together and reduce conflict over transition dates.

Planning ahead: how far in advance?

Most child arrangements orders require parents to agree on holiday dates well in advance. Common timelines:

• 6 weeks notice: Some orders require holiday dates to be agreed at least 6 weeks in advance, particularly for summer holidays
• Half-term by half-term: For shorter breaks, agreeing at the start of each term is typical
• As soon as school dates are published: Many parents plan the year ahead as soon as the school publishes its calendar

Advance planning is essential if either parent wants to take the child abroad or on holiday — passports, travel insurance, and flights all require forward planning.

Summer holidays: the biggest challenge

The six-week summer holiday is the longest and most challenging to split. It is too long to do as straight alternating weeks if parents are geographically close, and too long for a simple half-half split to feel fair. Common approaches include:

• 3 weeks each with a transition week in between — parent A has weeks 1-3, parent B has weeks 5-7, week 4 is a transition/neutral week
• Alternating years — one parent gets 4 weeks one year, the other gets 4 weeks the next year
• Flexible by month — agree month by month in advance based on work schedules and holiday plans

Flexibility and changing circumstances

Even with a clear holiday schedule, circumstances change. A parent gets a new job with different holiday allowance, or one parent wants to take the child to see family abroad. Good parenting plans include flexibility language: "The above holiday schedule can be varied by written agreement between the parents if circumstances change."

Flexibility is good for the child and reduces conflict, but changes should still be documented.