Education

#2026/107Wales School Day and School Year Amendment Regulations 2026

🇬🇧United Kingdom··Other·Medium Impact·View source ↗

AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.

🇬🇧 English

This law increases the minimum number of school sessions in Wales from 380 to 390 each school year and updates how staff training and planning days are treated. From 1 September 2026, 12 school sessions must be used mainly for training, preparation, or planning linked to additional learning needs, the Welsh curriculum, assessment arrangements, national priorities, school improvement priorities, or other training chosen by the governing body. Schools can count those training and planning sessions as sessions on which the school has met. The change affects Welsh schools, governing bodies, teachers, non-teaching staff, pupils, and families because it shapes the school calendar and the amount of time set aside for staff development.

AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.

Key Changes

  • Raises the minimum number of required school sessions in Wales from 380 to 390 per school year.
  • Requires 12 school sessions each year to be used mainly for staff training, preparation, and planning.
  • Allows those training and planning sessions to count as sessions on which the school has met.

Obligations

What this law requires

high

From the 2026-2027 school year, schools in Wales must meet for at least 390 school sessions in each school year instead of 380.

Welsh schoolsschool governing bodies
From 1 September 2026
operational
high

In every school year, 12 school sessions must be used wholly or mainly for training, preparation, or planning related to additional learning needs, the Welsh curriculum, assessment arrangements, national priorities, school improvement priorities, or other training considered appropriate by the governing body.

Welsh schoolsschool governing bodies
Each school year from 1 September 2026
operational
medium

The majority of all training, preparation, and planning provided during the 12 designated school sessions in a school year must relate to additional learning needs, curriculum, assessment arrangements, national priorities, or school improvement priorities.

Welsh schoolsschool governing bodies
Each school year from 1 September 2026
operational
low

Training, preparation, and planning sessions may include both teaching and non-teaching staff and may be conducted jointly with other schools, provided the statutory purpose requirements are met.

Welsh schoolsschool governing bodies
From 1 September 2026
operational

Affected Parties

Schools in WalesSchool governing bodies+2 more…

Tags

Wales education,school year,staff training