UAE school winter holidays 2026: When does the break begin and when will classes resume?

Dubai: With the winter break right around the corner, if you’re still planning your family getaway, you might be wondering when exactly your child’s winter vacation will begin.

Schools across the UAE follow different curricula, and private schools in different emirates have specific regulatory authorities that either issue the key dates of the academic year, or approve the calendars for each school, based on their regulatory requirements.

This year, however, most schools will be following almost similar dates for the winter break, as January 1, which is a public holiday falls on Friday, and is normally a day off only for Sharjah schools.

Here is a breakdown of the dates for winter breaks for UAE schools.

According to the academic calendar released by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), these are the dates for the winter break for private schools in the emirate:

Dubai private schools starting their academic year in April

Dubai private schools starting their academic year in September

In Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) regulates and approves school calendars that are submitted by private schools in the emirate.

ADEK ensures that the calendar submitted by each school aligns with the regulatory framework put in place by the authority, so if your child goes to a private school in the emirate, you can refer to the academic school calendar that your child’s school has issued for the exact dates of the winter break.

In Sharjah, the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) provides the academic calendar for private schools. According to the SPEA website, the winter break for all private schools (across curriculum) will be as follows:

As per the academic calendar released by the UAE Ministry of Education, schools following the MOE curriculum will have the winter break as follows: