A calendar that feels like clutter is a layout problem, not a reason to delete academic dates. Moodle keeps event data separately from the Calendar block that displays it. Once that distinction is clear, the safe fix is usually a two-minute page edit—and the dangerous fixes become easy to avoid.

First identify which “home” page you mean

  • Site home: the shared front page, called Home in current Moodle navigation, which an administrator can edit for visitors or logged-in users.

  • Personal Dashboard: a customisable page for one signed-in user; removing a block here normally affects only that user.

  • Default Dashboard page: the administrator’s template for users who have not customised their Dashboard.

  • Course page: a course-scoped block whose visibility and propagation settings can affect related course pages.

Remove Calendar from Site home

  1. Sign in with an administrator account and open Site home or Home.

  2. Enable Edit mode using the page control near the top right.

  3. Open the block drawer or region containing Calendar.

  4. Open the Calendar block actions menu.

  5. Choose Delete Calendar block and confirm after reviewing the scope warning.

  6. Turn Edit mode off and test the page as both a guest and a normal authenticated user.

Why the final audience check matters

  • Site home can show different content before and after login.

  • Themes can move blocks into a collapsible drawer rather than a fixed sidebar.

  • Block permissions may hide the instance from one role while leaving it visible to another.

  • Server and browser caches can briefly show the previous layout.

Hide instead of delete when the change may be temporary

With Edit mode enabled, the actions menu may offer Hide or configuration settings with an On this page visibility control. Hiding keeps the block configuration available for later restoration. Deleting removes that block instance, so re-adding it may require recreating its position and display scope.

Choose based on reversibility

  • Use Hide for seasonal layouts, testing, or an uncertain design decision.

  • Use Delete when the instance and its placement are no longer needed.

  • Use block Permissions when only specific roles, such as guests, should stop seeing it.

  • Document page context and visibility rules for blocks intended across many pages.

Remove Calendar from your own Dashboard

  1. Open Dashboard while signed in.

  2. Choose Customise this page or enable Edit mode, depending on the theme and Moodle version.

  3. Open the Calendar block actions menu and delete the block.

  4. Finish customisation and reload the Dashboard.

This is usually a personal preference

  • Users can normally customise their own Dashboard blocks.

  • A personal deletion does not change Site home or another user’s Dashboard.

  • Reset page to default can restore the administrator’s current default layout.

  • Administrators can remove the capability to manage Dashboard blocks when a fixed institutional layout is required.

Change the default Dashboard carefully

An administrator can edit Site administration → Appearance → Default Dashboard page. That template affects new or uncustomised dashboards. Moodle also offers Reset Dashboard for all users, which applies the default broadly and can overwrite personal block arrangements.

A reset is a site-wide migration

  • Preview the new default before applying it to everyone.

  • Tell users that their personal Dashboard customisations will be reset.

  • Record the previous layout and schedule the change outside busy teaching periods.

  • Do not use a global reset merely to remove one user’s Calendar block.

Restore the Calendar block later

  1. Open the relevant Site home, Dashboard, or course page.

  2. Enable Edit mode or page customisation.

  3. Choose Add a block from the block drawer.

  4. Select Calendar, then place it in the intended region.

  5. If the block should propagate, review Where this block appears and On this page settings before saving.

Restoration can expose an old scope mistake

  • A site-wide or “sticky” block can appear far beyond the page where it was created.

  • Display on page types controls eligible page patterns.

  • Default region and weight control placement; themes decide which regions they render.

  • Test several representative pages and roles after changing propagation.

When the action menu is missing

  • Edit mode is off: enable it on the page before looking for block actions.

  • Wrong context: editing Site home cannot remove a personal Dashboard instance.

  • Insufficient capability: use an administrator or a role allowed to manage blocks in that context.

  • Protected or forced block: an administrator may need to change block protection or default layout settings.

  • Theme hides the block region: expand the block drawer or test with the supported default theme.

  • Block reappears: it may be inherited from a wider context or restored from the default Dashboard.

Avoid database deletion and plugin removal

Do not delete block records directly from the database to solve a page-layout request. Do not uninstall the Calendar block plugin unless the deliberate goal is to remove that capability site-wide and the upgrade, dependency, backup, and rollback effects have been reviewed.

Primary Moodle references

  • Moodle Dashboard explains personal customisation, default blocks, and site-wide reset behavior.

  • Block settings documents block actions, visibility, page contexts, regions, and wider propagation.

  • Site home settings describes front-page editing and clean shared layouts.