UAE: Over A Million Students To Return On Monday After Extended Winter Break

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

More than a million students across the UAE are heading back to classrooms on Monday after the first extended winter break under the new unified academic calendar. But as school gates reopen, parents are already looking ahead to a series of changes that will reshape the school day and admissions process in the 2026–27 academic year.

A unified academic calendar, shorter Fridays and new age cut-offs for admissions will soon become part of everyday school life. Parents and students across the emirate are gearing up for these updates, many of which build on reforms already rolled out to the Dubai school calendar, admissions system and curriculum.

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To help families make sense of what's coming next, Khaleej Times has rounded up the key changes for 2026, bringing together official announcements and on-the-ground reactions from school leaders and parents navigating the shift.

Friday classes to end earlier

One of the most immediate changes families will feel is the adjustment to Friday schedules, introduced to reflect revised prayer timings. For many schools, the impact will be modest, as several already dismiss students by 11.30am or 11.45am.

However, how schools respond operationally will vary. Some are revising timetables, others are redistributing instructional hours across the week, while a few have explored limited online learning - though this is not expected to be widespread.

Sheela Menon, Principal of Ambassador School, explained how her school is managing the change without disrupting learning time.“So far lessons concluded at 11.30am on Fridays, and dispersal was complete before 12pm. To incorporate the changes, without altering break durations or the number of lessons, we are able to adjust the timetable to advance dismissal by approximately 10 minutes, enabling both students and staff to observe Friday prayers comfortably and on time.”

At Woodlem British School, planning for the new Friday schedule is already complete, covering everything from academics to transport logistics. Emphasising a student-centred approach, Natalia Svetenok, Principal, Woodlem British School, Ajman, said,“Our priority is a smooth, well-coordinated transition that maintains continuity, protects learning time, and supports student wellbeing.”

For parents, however, the concern often lies beyond the school gate. Unified dispersal times could mean heavier traffic, particularly in neighbourhoods with multiple schools releasing students at once.

Christine Quartier La Tente, a resident of Damac Hills 2, described the practical challenges the change brings.“We're not very happy about the decision, but at the same time it doesn't completely change our lives. Parents who have to both drop off and pick up their children are the ones most affected. In our case, my husband usually drops our daughter to school in the morning, so it wasn't a big issue earlier. But now that his travel has increased, I'll have to manage both the drop-off and pick-up.

“I live quite far from the school, so there's really no point in going back home in between - I'm still trying to figure out what to do.
“The school had shared the message earlier as well, but they've made it clear that classes will continue in person, not online,” she added.

Others are thinking about how the revised timings will affect access to Friday prayers, especially for older students.

Razia Khan shared her concern as a parent of a teenager.“My son is 15 and he goes to the mosque every Friday. With the new timing, he'll only get home from school around 12.30pm, which gives him barely 15 minutes to change and rush to the mosque. We'll just have to see how it works out.”

2. New age cut-off dates for school admissions

The Ministry of Education has updated its rules surrounding the age cut-off dates for school admissions ahead of the 2026/27 academic year.
Starting from the next academic year, the official age cut-off for Kindergarten and Grade 1 admissions will shift to December 31 for all schools whose academic calendars begin in August/September as opposed to the previous cut- off date of August 31.

Under the revised age eligibility criteria, children applying for Pre-Kindergarten must be three years old by December 31 of the admission year. Admission to Kindergarten 1 requires the child to have turned four by December 31, while Kindergarten 2 is open to children who are five years old by the same cut-off date. For Grade 1, students must be six years old by December 31 of the year of admission.

Schools that begin their academic year in April will continue to apply the March 31 cut-off date under their existing system, with no change.

Shiny Davison, Principal of Woodlem Hamidiya said,“The new age rule introduced by the Ministry will certainly require time for effective implementation. We understand that helping parents comprehend this change may be challenging, as it has implications on the child's entry level. However, our school has already initiated necessary amendments within their systems and are aligning themselves with this transition in a structured manner.”

3. New school calendar

As the 2025-26 academic year gets underway, families across the UAE are still settling into a newly revised school calendar. The Ministry of Education has rolled out a unified schedule that applies to both public and private schools, bringing everyone onto the same timeline for the first time. This is part of the Ministry's 'Year of Community' initiative.

One of the key changes is the alignment of major holidays across the academic year. Mid-term breaks have been clearly mapped out for schools following the government curriculum, while institutions outside the MoE framework have also been guided on when to observe these breaks.

For the remainder of the 2025-26 school year, the updated key dates are as follows:

• Classes resume after the winter break on Monday, January 5, 2026.

• The spring break begins on Monday, March 16, 2026, with students returning on Monday, March 30, 2026.

• For Ministry of Education schools, classes will resume after the spring break on Monday, April 13, 2026.

• The academic year is expected to conclude no earlier than Friday, July 3, 2026.

4. New national curriculum

For the first time, the UAE's newly issued federal decree law on the National Educational Curriculum puts a clear legal framework in place for how the national curriculum is designed, approved, implemented and reviewed.

Central to this shift is the National Education Charter, described as the country's“supreme reference document”. It sets out what education in the UAE is meant to achieve, from the objectives of learning and the language and duration of classes, to graduate attributes, national identity, societal values, targeted competencies and the broader principles that will guide curriculum design.

Lisa Crausby OBE, Group Chief Education Officer at GEMS Education, said parents and students are likely to“notice greater consistency” in the way values, national identity and character development show up in day-to-day learning. She explained that these aspects are expected to be woven into existing subjects and teaching methods, alongside“clearer learning outcomes that support both academic progress and personal development”, as more guidance on the Charter is introduced.

Addressing concerns around international curricula, Crausby stressed that the focus is on“alignment rather than disruption”. While many international programmes already build similar skills and competencies, she noted that the“practical implications”, including curriculum time and how integration will work in practice, will become clearer once the Charter and implementation guidance are fully shared. Schools, she added, will need to balance meeting compulsory requirements while safeguarding“the integrity of existing academic pathways”.

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