Opening hours: what to publish on your school website
The start and end times of your compulsory school day, and the total hours in a typical week, including breaks.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Keep it up to date
There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
What's needed
State the start and end times of the compulsory school day and the total hours in a typical week, including breaks but not after-school activities, on the about us or contact page on your website.
What it must contain
3 parts- States the total weekly opening hours, including breaks but not after-school activitiesShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Gives the official start time of the compulsory school dayShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
- Gives the official end time of the compulsory school dayShould: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.
What the official sources say
Set out in 2 official sources:
What maintained schools must publish online
Schools should publish the: – official start time of the compulsory school day – official end time of the compulsory school day – total time this amounts to in a typical week, including breaks but not after-school activities
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ School opening hours > What schools should publish
What academies must publish online
Academies should publish the: – official start time of the compulsory school day – official end time of the compulsory school day – total time this amounts to in a typical week, including breaks but not after-school activities
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ School opening hours > What academies should publish
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish their opening hours?
For academies and maintained schools, it's recommended in official guidance, but isn't a legal requirement in itself.
What do we need to include about opening hours?
States the total weekly opening hours, including breaks but not after-school activities; official start time of the compulsory school day; official end time of the compulsory school day.
When do we need to update our opening hours?
Keep it up to date. There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
Where does the requirement for the school opening hours come from?
It is set out in What maintained schools must publish online and What academies must publish online.
Recent changes to the official guidance
Updates to the official sources that affect this requirement, newest first.
5 September 2022 · What maintained schools must publish online
The DfE added a section on school opening hours.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
Is this on your school's website?
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4