Spring Bank Holiday Child Contact

Spring Bank Holiday (also known as Late May Bank Holiday) lands on the last Monday of May. Most schools close for the holiday, so include it in your child contact schedule.

Originally a Christian festival known as Whit Sunday or Pentecost, Spring Bank Holiday still involves some old traditions like country fairs and brass band marches. More commonly, however, this is a time for friends and family to share — outdoors at the beach, BBQing in the park or maybe visiting local eateries.

Spring Bank Holiday is a popular long weekend that both parents might want to spend with their child. To avoid conflict, agree in advance how you can share this bank holiday.

Spring Bank Holiday contact schedules

Give the weekend parent the extra day

You can give the Monday holiday to the parent who has the child at the start of the weekend.

Imagine a family who uses the alternating weekends schedule. If Spring Bank Holiday falls immediately after the nonresidential parent's weekend, that parent gets the extra day.

Alternate yearly

Many parents alternate who has Spring Bank Holiday each year. Your child might spend the long weekend (or just Monday) with you in even-numbered years and with the other parent in odd-numbered years.

Alternate long weekends

Parents can choose to alternate long weekends within a year. The rotation might stay the same every year or shift.

For example, one parent might have Easter Monday and Spring Bank Holiday while the other has May Day and Summer Bank Holiday.

Split the long weekend

You can agree to split the long weekend evenly or according to your standard division of parenting time (e.g., 70/30).

This is a good option for parents who commit to dividing holiday time evenly or who want to maintain a specific division of time. (You can use the Custody X Change parenting time calculator to see how holidays affect your timeshare.)

In the roughly equal division below, one parent has the child from 08:00 Saturday to midday Sunday. Then, the child stays with the other parent until 20:00 Monday.

Split Monday only

If you don't want to change your standard weekend schedule, you can split Monday only. The child spends Monday morning with the parent they're with on Sunday night, then spends Monday afternoon with the other parent.

Use the court's schedule

When parents can't agree, they can apply for a family court order that contains a residence and contact schedule covering bank holidays and special occasions.

The easiest way to make a holiday contact schedule

There's a lot to think about when you build a holiday schedule. You'll want it to address weekend and midweek holidays, reflect special occasions unique to your family (like birthdays) and work for years to come.

The Custody X Change app makes it easy. Just open your Custody X Change calendar and follow our steps to make a holiday schedule.

To make a residence and contact schedule schedule quickly and affordably, turn to Custody X Change. In no time, you'll have written and visual versions that include the holidays you care about.