The Cyril blog
Writing for UK school parents about the calendars, the apps and the admin that arrives in the book bag. Opinionated where it helps, honest about the alternatives, and never written for the software companies.
- 14 September 2026What is actually on the back to school checklist?Most back to school checklists are shopping lists. This is the other one: the forms, logins, sign-ups and deadlines that land in the first four weeks of the school year, in the order they arrive, with the dates that are fixed marked as fixed.Read post
- 14 September 2026Why did you become the default parent?The default parent is not a personality. It is roughly a dozen accounts, logins and records that got registered to one of you, one at a time, and never got moved. What the list is, and what each item actually takes to hand over.Read post
- 14 September 2026Does a shared family calendar reduce the mental load?No, not on its own. Putting a calendar in front of both parents does not move the work, because the work is the typing. What a shared calendar has to do before it takes anything off anyone, and the one part of the school year it can genuinely handle.Read post
- 14 September 2026Is it weaponised incompetence, or does he not have the login?Before you decide the other parent is avoiding the work, check whether the school has ever given them a way to do it. A test that tells the two apart, and what changes depending on the answer.Read post
- 8 September 2026Can you take your child out of school in term time, and what is the fine?In England a term-time holiday without the school's permission can mean a fine of 80 pounds per parent per child, rising to 160, and prosecution for a third offence. When the fine applies, what counts as exceptional circumstances, and how the rules differ in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.Read post
- 7 September 2026How many weeks are in a school year in the UK?The UK school year is about 39 weeks of teaching across three terms, with 13 weeks of holiday. How that breaks down by nation, by term, and why independent schools have shorter terms.Read post
- 7 September 2026How does the school uniform grant work, and who can get one?There is no national school uniform grant in England, but some councils offer one and many schools run their own help. Scotland and Wales have national schemes, Northern Ireland has an income-based allowance. Who qualifies, how much it is, and how to apply in each nation.Read post
- 7 September 2026When is the secondary school application deadline?In England the deadline to apply for a secondary school place for September 2027 is 31 October 2026, and offers arrive on 1 March 2027. What the dates are elsewhere in the UK, how the application works, and what happens if you miss it.Read post
- 7 September 2026What is a prep school?A prep school is an independent primary school, usually for children from 4 or 7 up to 11 or 13, that prepares pupils for entry to a senior independent school. What the ages mean, how pre-prep fits in, what the entrance exams are, and how the school year and the admin differ from a state primary.Read post
- 7 September 2026What is an independent school, and how is it different from a private or public school?An independent school is one that is not funded by the state and charges fees. What that means for how it is run, inspected and admitted to, why the words private, independent and public school get mixed up, and how prep schools fit in.Read post
- 7 September 2026When do children start school in the UK?In England and Wales most children start Reception in the September after their fourth birthday, and school is compulsory from the term after they turn five. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different, summer-born children can start later, and the application deadline comes earlier than most parents expect.Read post
- 5 September 2026Parents' evening: how it works, and what to ask by age groupHow UK schools run parents' evenings, when they fall, how booking works, and the questions worth asking at each age, from Reception to sixth form.Read post
- 5 September 2026The school admin only one of you can seeAsking the other parent to help does not work, because the work is knowing what needs doing. How to write the school year down so half of it can change hands, and the one school record that quietly decided which of you owns it.Read post
- 4 September 2026The forms in the book bag, and which ones actually need signingA book bag comes home with four bits of paper in it and usually one of them wants something from you. How to tell which in ten seconds, why the ones that cost you something look optional, and what happens when a form never goes back.Read post
- 3 September 2026The class WhatsApp group, and why you cannot leave itForty-odd messages, three that mattered. What the class group is actually for, why it gets like this, and how to mute it without missing the bit you needed.Read post
- 3 September 2026What is a disaggregated INSET day?A disaggregated INSET day is one the school has broken into after-school sessions, so children attend as normal. What it means for childcare and why schools do it.Read post
- 3 September 2026October half term 2026, and how to check your own school's datesWhen October half term 2026 falls, why some schools take a week and others a fortnight, and how to confirm the dates for your own child's school.Read post
- 3 September 2026Why you get the same message four timesThe trip letter arrives by text, by app, in the newsletter and in a book bag. Why schools do that, which copy to believe, and what all the repeating quietly costs you.Read post
- 3 September 2026School holidays 2026/27 in England, and how to find your own school's datesWho sets school holiday dates in England, why 2 schools in one town can differ, and the quickest way to get your school's 2026/27 dates into your calendar.Read post
- 3 September 2026INSET day meaning: what INSET days are, and how to find your school'sINSET days are teacher training days when pupils stay at home. What the 5 days are for, why 2 schools in one town differ, and how to find your own school's.Read post
- 3 September 2026When does the autumn term start in 2026, and why it differs by schoolAutumn term 2026 starts anywhere from the last day of August to the second week of September. Why the dates differ, and how INSET days move your child's first day.Read post
One Cyril for the whole family
One subscription covers up to five adults: parents, grandparents, nanny or au pair. Everyone sees the same plan.
