The Ministry curriculum is the reference every other calendar in the country is measured against.
MOE (Ministry of Education) curriculum schools in the UAE follow the national three-term calendar: the 2026–27 year runs from 31 August 2026 to 2 July 2027, 185 school days in total. August to July. 185 days. The reference calendar everything else is measured against. The assessment windows drawn over the local calendar are Arabic Baseline Assessment (7 September – 2 October 2026), Diagnostic exams (7–18 September 2026) and Standardised Proficiency Assessment (5–30 October 2026), and six further assessment windows across the year.
| Month | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 |
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| August 2026 | |||||
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| December 2026 | |||||
| January 2027 | |||||
| February 2027 | |||||
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| July 2027 |
All emirates (UAE Ministry of Education (MOE) unified calendar). Public schools nationwide, and the baseline that private schools in all seven emirates build from. Private schools may vary start dates, half terms and the length of breaks within the 185-day minimum. The national calendar is the frame, not the contract.
MOE / Ministry curriculum. August to July. 185 days. The reference calendar everything else is measured against.
Read the Dubai page for the local rules in full.
Depends on moon sighting. Firm enough to plan around, not firm enough to book non-refundable travel around.
They are badged Expected in the calendar and carry [expected] in the downloaded file, so a shifted date never lands silently in someone’s diary. What Ramadan does to the school day.
| What | Dates | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Staff return | 24 August 2026 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday | 28 August 2026 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.Falls on the Friday before students return. No school day lost. |
| Term 1 begins | 31 August 2026 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Autumn half term | 12–16 October 20269 days away | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.Private schools outside Sharjah may split this break into two shorter ones, to a five-day maximum. This is the single most variable week in the year. |
| Eid Al Etihad (UAE National Day) | 2–4 December 2026 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.The government public holiday is Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December. The MOE school calendar closes Wednesday to Friday, 2–4 December, which is what makes Term 1 total 67 days. Both statements are true; they are different things. |
| Term 1 ends | 11 December 2026 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Winter break | 14–31 December 202623 days away | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.Students return Monday 4 January 2027. Public-school staff return earlier, typically after a shorter break from 21 December. |
| What | Dates | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 1 January 2027 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.Falls inside the winter break. |
| Term 2 begins | 4 January 2027 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Eid Al Fitr break | 8–12 March 20279 days away | Expected. Depends on moon sighting. Firm enough to plan around, not firm enough to book non-refundable travel around.The school break is 8–12 March (5 school days), which is what makes Term 2 total exactly 60 days. The public holiday itself is expected 9–12 March. Moon-sighting dependent: the whole block can shift by a day or two. |
| Eid Al Fitr | 9–12 March 2027 | Expected. Depends on moon sighting. Firm enough to plan around, not firm enough to book non-refundable travel around.Moon-sighting dependent. |
| Term 2 ends | 2 April 2027 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Spring break | 5–9 April 20279 days away | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.Sharjah schools list 5–8 April, a day shorter on paper. |
| What | Dates | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Term 3 begins | 12 April 2027 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Arafah Day and Eid Al Adha | 15–18 May 2027 | Expected. Depends on moon sighting. Firm enough to plan around, not firm enough to book non-refundable travel around.Moon-sighting dependent. The first two days fall on a weekend. |
| Eid Al Adha break | 17–18 May 20274 days away | Expected. Depends on moon sighting. Firm enough to plan around, not firm enough to book non-refundable travel around.Arafah Day plus Eid Al Adha. Moon-sighting dependent. |
| Hijri New Year | 6 June 2027 | Expected. Depends on moon sighting. Firm enough to plan around, not firm enough to book non-refundable travel around.Falls on a Sunday. No school day lost. |
| Term 3 ends | 2 July 2027 | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around. |
| Summer break | 5 July – 27 August 202758 days away | Confirmed. Published by the Ministry of Education or announced by UAE government. Safe to plan around.2027–28 begins Monday 30 August 2027. |
Last verified . Islamic dates move with the moon sighting, so the badges say how firm each one is.
Public schools follow it exactly. There are no school-set half terms, so the three terms run as published, and the assessment calendar is national rather than left to each school.
That makes it the most predictable year in the UAE to plan around, and the one where an assessment window genuinely applies to every school on the same days.
Students return on Monday 31 August 2026. Staff go back a week earlier, on Monday 24 August 2026. Private schools may move the student start date by a few days, so check your own school’s letter before booking travel.
The last day is Friday 2 July 2027, and the summer break runs from the following day. 185 school days sit between the first day and the last.
Six of them: Eid Al Fitr break, Eid Al Adha break, Eid Al Fitr, Arafah Day and Eid Al Adha, Hijri New Year and Ramadan. All are Islamic dates, which are confirmed by moon sighting a day or two beforehand rather than months in advance. They are marked as expected on this page and carry [expected] in the calendar file, so a date that shifts never lands silently in a diary.
Not a national one. The Ministry frame has no February break, which is what makes the 9-week run from 4 January – 5 March 2027 the longest unbroken teaching stretch of the year. Some private schools set their own week; if yours does, switch it on in More options and the calendar redraws around it.
No. Term dates are set by the Ministry of Education frame and the emirate regulator, not by the curriculum. What the curriculum changes is what sits on top: 185 days. The reference calendar everything else is measured against.
Arabic Baseline Assessment runs 7 September – 2 October 2026, Diagnostic exams runs 7–18 September 2026, Standardised Proficiency Assessment runs 5–30 October 2026, Mock exams runs 18–20 November 2026, End-of-term exams runs 7–11 December 2026, School-based Summative Assessment runs 22 March – 2 April 2027, TIMSS 2027 runs 19 April – 14 May 2027, Standardised Proficiency Assessment runs 3 May – 11 June 2027 and End-of-year exams runs 21–30 June 2027. These are set outside the UAE and do not move for a local holiday, which is why they are the dates most likely to override your school’s own calendar.
