INSET Days Explained: What Every Parent Needs to Know

My colleague booked a client meeting for a Monday in October. That morning, her husband called in a panic. It was an INSET day. No school. Two children at home. No childcare arranged.

The school had announced it six weeks earlier in a newsletter. Neither of them had registered it.

INSET days catch everyone out at some point. Here's everything you need to know so you're not scrambling for emergency childcare at 7am.

What Is an INSET Day?

INSET stands for In-Service Education and Training. These are days when teachers are at school for professional development, but children don't attend. You might also hear them called:

• Teacher training days
• Non-pupil days
• Staff development days
• Baker days (the old name, after Kenneth Baker who introduced them in 1988)

Whatever your school calls them, the effect is the same: your child is at home, and you need to figure out what to do with them.

How Many Are There?

Schools in England get 5 INSET days per academic year. That's 5 days across the whole year where the school is open for staff but closed for pupils.

Some schools announce all 5 at the start of the year. Others announce some in September and drip-feed the rest through the year. There's no requirement to announce them all upfront, which is why they catch people off guard.

When Do They Usually Fall?

Schools have complete freedom to choose when to place their INSET days. But patterns exist:

• Start of autumn term: Very common. Often the day before children return in September. Sometimes two consecutive days.
• After Christmas: The Monday children go back is sometimes an INSET day, pushing their return to Tuesday.
• Attached to half terms: Occasionally placed on the Friday before or Monday after a half term, creating a longer break.
• Standalone: One or two scattered through the year with a few weeks' notice.

The standalone ones are the killers. They appear in a newsletter, buried between the Year 4 swimming schedule and the PTA quiz night, and if you don't spot them, you only find out when you arrive at a locked school gate.

How to Find Your School's INSET Days

• School website: Most publish term dates including INSET days. Look under "Parents" or "Key Information."
• Autumn newsletter: Usually sent in the first week of September. Should include confirmed dates for the year.
• School app: If your school uses an app (SchoolPing, Arbor, Class Dojo), INSET days should be in the calendar section.
• Ask the office: If in doubt, phone them. They know. They just don't always communicate it clearly.

What About Academies?

Academies and free schools set their own term dates, which means their INSET days might not align with the local council schools. If you have children at an academy and a maintained school, you could end up with mismatched INSET days. Check both schools separately.

The Childcare Problem

The real headache isn't knowing about INSET days. It's covering them. Options:

• Annual leave: Some parents save days specifically for INSET coverage.
• Grandparents/family: If you're lucky enough to have them nearby.
• Holiday clubs: Some run on INSET days. Check local providers.
• Other parents: Take turns. I'll have yours on the October one, you have mine in February.
• Work from home: If your employer allows it and your child is old enough to entertain themselves (spoiler: they're probably not).

Never Get Caught Out Again

The moment you see an INSET day announced, put it in your calendar. Both parents' calendars if applicable. Set a reminder a week before.

Or, let My School Agent handle it. It monitors your school communications and flags INSET days as soon as they're announced. No scanning newsletters. No relying on your memory. Just a clear alert that says: "INSET day confirmed: Monday 24 October. No school."

Five days a year. It doesn't sound like much. But one missed INSET day is all it takes to turn a normal Tuesday morning into complete chaos.