October Bank Holiday for Divorced, Separated Parents

The October Bank Holiday falls on the last Monday in October.

If you're a divorced or separated parent, don't let it catch you off guard. Put a clear schedule for child custody and access on this holiday in your parenting plan. This allows both parents to plan ahead and prevents quarrels.

To see how this holiday and others affect your total parenting time, use a parenting time calculator.

October Bank Holiday access schedules

Use the following schedules as ideas, but know that you can customise them or agree on something entirely different.

Alternate long weekends

You might choose to alternate the long weekends within a year.

For example, one parent might have the child for the May Bank Holiday and August Bank Holiday while the other gets the bank holiday in June and the one in October.

The rotation might stay the same every year or shift.

Split the long weekend

You can share the long weekend so that both parents get to celebrate the October Bank Holiday with the child.

If you consider the weekend to last from Friday evening until Monday evening, each of you could have roughly a day and a half of parenting time. Make sure the parent who gets the second half of the weekend doesn't have to work on Monday.

Give the long weekend to one parent every year

Many children of divorced parents live primarily with one parent. This bank holiday weekend could be an opportunity for them to spend quality time with the parent they don't see as often.

Focus on Monday

The options above also apply if you choose to think of the holiday as a Monday rather than a long weekend.

You can alternate who gets Monday holidays, split the day into two parts, or give the whole day to one parent every year.

The easiest way to make a custody schedule for special occasions

There's a lot to think about when you build a holiday schedule. You'll want it to address weekend and midweek holidays, reflect 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 custody and access schedule quickly and affordably, turn to Custody X Change. In no time, you'll have written and visual versions that include the holidays and occasions you care about.