Calculator / Teaching
Teachers in state-funded schools in England and Wales are directed for 195 days a year: 190 with pupils plus 5 INSET. That leaves about 13 weeks outside directed time across the school holiday blocks. Use the calculator to work out part-time pro-rata directed days.
Updated 18 May 2026
For teachers in state-funded schools on STPCD terms. Independent and academy schools may differ; check your contract.
190 pupil + 5 INSET
About 13 weeks across school holiday blocks
Full-time teachers in England are directed for 195 days per year (190 pupil days + 5 INSET). That leaves 65 working days outside of directed time, or 13 weeks. This far exceeds the 5.6-week statutory minimum.
| Holiday block | Typical length | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Summer | 6 weeks | Late July to early September |
| Christmas | 2 weeks | Mid December to early January |
| Easter | 2 weeks | Date varies; not always around Easter Sunday |
| October half-term | 1 week | Last week of October usually |
| February half-term | 1 week | Mid February |
| May half-term | 1 week | Late May |
| Total | ~13 weeks | School calendar varies by local authority |
STPCD doesn't give teachers "annual leave" in the conventional sense. Instead it specifies:
The 5.6-week statutory minimum under the Working Time Regulations 1998 always applies as a floor, but the directed-time framework means teachers comfortably exceed it through the school holiday block pattern.
School holidays are not directed time, so your headteacher cannot require you to be present at school. But STPCD does allow "such other duties as may reasonably be required", interpreted as planning, marking, CPD, and similar professional activity. There is no specific limit on this; you must use your professional judgement on what is reasonable.
Unlike most contracts, teachers being ill during school holidays does not get them extra leave back. The salary continues through holidays whether you are ill or well. Long-term sickness that crosses term boundaries does follow standard occupational sick-pay rules.
You cannot take annual leave during term time, because the contract assumes you take your leave during the scheduled holiday blocks. Unpaid leave for exceptional circumstances (compassionate, jury service, etc.) is at the head's discretion under local LA policy. Booking a holiday during term will normally be refused.
Bank holidays that fall outside school holidays (rare, usually only the early May and August bank holidays) are not working days. Most bank holidays already coincide with school holiday blocks (Christmas, Easter, May half-term), so the question rarely arises.
SNCT handbook, not STPCD. 195 working days, 190 pupil + 5 INSET. 35-hour week (1,365 hours total). Salaries are negotiated separately.
School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (Wales) Document. Broadly aligned with the England STPCD. 195 days directed. Welsh Government took over teacher pay/conditions from 2018.
Negotiating Committee for Teachers' (NITC) handbook. 195 days directed. Pay scales follow England's with slight variations. 10 public holidays vs 8 in GB.
TAs, lunchtime supervisors, school admin, and the April 2024 reform that affects them.
How pro-rata works for any part-time worker, not just teachers.
Another sector-specific scheme with tiered service-year entitlements.
The amendment that changed term-time and irregular-hours holiday calculation.
Updated 2026-04-27