School Holiday Childcare Plan 2027: Count the Days to Cover

Counting from MOE’s calendar for the 2027 school holidays in Singapore, a Primary 1 pupil is out of class on 73 weekdays between Monday, 4 January and Friday, 31 December 2027, by our count: 60 in the four vacations and 13 closures during term. Primary 2 to 6 pupils have 74, because they start on Tuesday, 5 January. Seven of the 13 closures are public holidays, so a parent with a Monday-to-Friday job and public holidays off has 66 weekdays to cover (67 for Primary 2 to 6).

Three of those days close student care as well. MOE says that on Tuesday, 9 February, Monday, 3 May and Monday, 27 December 2027, schools, including the General Office, Student Care Centres and KCare Centres, will be closed. None of the three is a public holiday.

This guide is the arithmetic and a cover plan, from MOE’s release of 14 July 2026; the dates themselves are on our MOE school terms and holidays 2027 calendar. Every count is our own arithmetic, not a total we found on an MOE or MOM page, and counts that rest on our reading of the release are marked.

How many weekdays will my child be out of class in 2027?

MOE’s School Terms and Holidays for 2027 release sets four terms that each run ten weeks, 200 term-time weekdays in all (our count). The four vacations hold 60 weekdays:

• 13–21 March: Mon 15 – Fri 19 Mar, 5 weekdays
• 29 May – 27 June: Mon 31 May – Fri 25 Jun, 20 weekdays
• 4–12 September: Mon 6 – Fri 10 Sep, 5 weekdays
• 20 November – 31 December: Mon 22 Nov – Fri 31 Dec, 30 weekdays

Inside term, a primary school is closed on 13 more weekdays:

• Seven public holidays: Mon 8 Feb, Wed 10 Mar, Fri 26 Mar, Mon 17 May, Thu 20 May, Mon 9 Aug and Thu 28 Oct. MOM’s public holiday list (last updated 19 June 2026) confirms the other six; Mon 8 Feb is discussed below.
• Two off-in-lieu days: Tue 9 Feb and Mon 3 May. The third, Mon 27 Dec, falls in the year-end vacation, so it is already in the 60.
• Four scheduled school holidays: Mon 5 Jul (after Youth Day on Sun 4 Jul), Tue 10 Aug, Fri 3 Sep (Teachers’ Day) and Fri 8 Oct (Children’s Day, for primary schools and the primary sections of full schools only).

Sixty plus 13 is 73. Of the 260 weekdays from 4 January to 31 December, that leaves 187 on which a primary school is open (our count). Fri 1 Jan, a public holiday before the school year starts, is left out.

Which number applies to my child?

73 is the count for a pupil who starts on 4 January and has Children’s Day off. Adjust for level (junior colleges and Millennia Institute have different terms; see the calendar page):

• Primary 1: 73.
• Primary 2 to 6: 74, because their first day is Tue 5 Jan.
• Secondary: 72, because MOE lists Children’s Day for primary schools and the primary sections of full schools only. This is our reading: the release gives 4 January as the start of the school year for secondary schools and its first-day footnote names no secondary level.
• A school used for the SEC written examinations: add 15 on our reading. MOE says its final term ends on Fri 29 Oct, so we count Mon 1 – Fri 19 Nov as 15 more weekdays without class.
• K1 and K2 at an MOE Kindergarten: 72 and 73 on our reading, since the release applies Children’s Day to primary schools only. MOE’s KCare page lists Children’s Day as a closure, so if the kindergarten closes on Fri 8 Oct the counts are 73 and 74. Ask the kindergarten.

How many of those days do I actually have to cover?

A public holiday is usually your day off too. Take the seven term-time public holidays out of 73 and 66 weekdays remain for Primary 1: the 60 vacation weekdays plus six single days (Tue 9 Feb, Mon 3 May, Mon 5 Jul, Tue 10 Aug, Fri 3 Sep and Fri 8 Oct). It is 67 for Primary 2 to 6 and 65 for secondary. No weekday public holiday falls in a vacation: Christmas Day is a Saturday, and New Year’s Day is before the school year.

This is our reading of MOM’s list for a Monday-to-Friday job with public holidays off; shift workers should recount. MOM’s calendar page words Mon 8 Feb as a public holiday “if your rest day falls on 7 February 2027”, while MOE’s release and MOM’s 18 June 2026 press release say plainly that it will be one. If your rest day is not Sunday, ask your employer; if it is a working day for you, add one to your cover count.

Which days close student care and KCare as well?

MOE’s release names three off-in-lieu days when “Schools, including the General Office, Student Care Centres and KCare Centres, will be closed”:

• Tue 9 Feb 2027: after Chinese New Year on Sat 6 and Sun 7 Feb and the public holiday on Mon 8 Feb.
• Mon 3 May 2027: after Labour Day on Sat 1 May.
• Mon 27 Dec 2027: after Christmas Day on Sat 25 Dec.

None is on MOM’s list, so by our reading they are ordinary working days for most employees. The release does not say whether community-based student care centres follow the same closures, so ask yours. Arrange cover for these three first.

KCare, the full-day service at MOE Kindergartens, runs Monday to Friday until 7pm, including school holidays, says MOE’s KCare page (last updated 30 March 2026). It closes on public holidays, Teachers’ Day, Children’s Day and up to 6 additional days each year, and fees are payable in the June and December holidays. The page does not say whether the three off-in-lieu days are among the “additional” days, so ask your kindergarten for its 2027 list. Fees are in our MOE Kindergarten guide.

For primary pupils, MOE’s school-based student care page (last updated 5 December 2025) says every primary school has a centre that takes only its own pupils, and that fees vary. It gives no vacation hours or closure dates, so ask whether the centre opens every vacation weekday, whether it closes on Mon 5 Jul, Tue 10 Aug, Fri 3 Sep or Fri 8 Oct, and what a vacation day costs.

How do I fill the days? A cover grid for two working carers

Fill in this order (our suggestion, not an MOE rule): the three closure days, when student care cannot help; then the four vacation blocks; then the single days, which one leave day or a grandparent can patch.

The grid is illustrative: two working carers (A and B), one child in Primary 4 with a school-based student care centre, and a grandparent who helps some days. That child has 74 weekdays without class and 67 to cover. It assumes the centre opens on vacation days (MOE’s page does not say; ask) and that each carer’s leave includes the 2 days of extended childcare leave described below; the other 16 leave days would be annual or other leave.

• Mon 4 Jan (1): grandparent. Primary 2 to 6 start on Tue 5 Jan.
• Tue 9 Feb (1): Carer B leave. Student care and KCare closed.
• Mon 15 – Fri 19 Mar (5): student care.
• Mon 3 May (1): Carer A leave. Student care and KCare closed.
• Mon 31 May – Fri 4 Jun (5): programme week.
• Mon 7 – Fri 11 Jun (5): grandparent for 3, Carer A leave for 2.
• Mon 14 – Fri 18 Jun (5): student care.
• Mon 21 – Fri 25 Jun (5): Carer B leave.
• Mon 5 Jul, Tue 10 Aug, Fri 3 Sep, Fri 8 Oct (4): student care, if the centre is open.
• Mon 6 – Fri 10 Sep (5): programme week.
• Mon 22 – Fri 26 Nov (5): student care.
• Mon 29 Nov – Fri 3 Dec (5): Carer A leave.
• Mon 6 – Fri 10 Dec (5): programme week.
• Mon 13 – Fri 17 Dec (5): grandparent.
• Mon 20 – Fri 24 Dec (5): Carer A leave for 2, Carer B leave for 3.
• Mon 27 Dec (1): Carer A leave. Student care and KCare closed.
• Tue 28 – Fri 31 Dec (4): student care.

Student care 23, programme weeks 15, grandparent 9, Carer A 11 and Carer B 9 make 67. The weakest line is the 23 student care days: if the centre is closed in the vacations, they fall to leave, programmes and grandparents. Student care fees are left out because MOE’s page says only that fees vary. For the 30-weekday year-end vacation (Mon 22 Nov – Fri 31 Dec), the repeating week in our year-end 2026 plan is one pattern to copy. For a routine on the days a child is at home, our screen time guide and weekday plan is one way to set it.

Can childcare leave cover some of the days?

MOM’s childcare leave pages, reread on 17 October 2026, give parents of Singapore citizen children who have worked for their employer for 3 continuous months two entitlements:

• Childcare leave: 6 days a year each until the year the child turns 7.
• Extended childcare leave: 2 days a year when the youngest child is 7 to 12. With children in both age groups, the paid total for each parent is at most 6 days.

For a child who is not a Singapore citizen, the eligibility page gives 2 days a year under the Employment Act. Both pages were last updated on 24 August 2026. MOM’s page on taking childcare leave (last updated 14 March 2024) says you can use it with your child for any reason, with early notice and your employer’s approval. It cannot be transferred to your spouse or encashed, and it lapses at the end of the leave year (1 January to 31 December unless you agree another period). Because it lapses and works when student care is closed, the three closure days are a sensible use (our suggestion).

MOM’s pages say an increase in childcare leave was announced at the 2026 National Day Rally and that the implementation date and eligibility criteria will be released at a later stage, so treat 6 and 2 as the figures on 17 October 2026 and check for changes before you book 2027 leave. This is general information, not employment advice.

What to check before you lock the plan

1. Find your count (73, 74, 72 or your school’s variation) and write it at the top.
2. Mark the seven term-time public holidays as days off, and confirm how your employer treats Mon 8 Feb.
3. Arrange cover for Tue 9 Feb, Mon 3 May and Mon 27 Dec first.
4. Ask your centre in writing for its vacation days and hours, 2027 closure list, vacation-day fees and booking deadline.
5. Ask your employer about your 2027 childcare leave, and whether June and December leave needs early approval.
6. Agree grandparent days and a backup for when they are unwell (plan B for family outings shows how to settle a fallback early). Put the dates in the calendar you review each week, as in our weekly family admin routine, and recheck MOE’s calendar before booking leave, flights or camps.

More on running the family week is in our Everyday routines guides.

Common questions