5 Tips to Engage Pupils in Maths Learning Over the Summer Holidays

Summer is a time filled with fun and relaxation - but it can also lead to a decline in children's retention of what they have learned throughout the school year. In order to best combat this, teachers can implement a variety of strategies to help their pupils maintain and enhance their maths skills over the summer holidays. Let's take a look at a few different ideas:

1. Send Home Practice Packets

Before the school year ends, teachers can prepare practice packs filled with a variety of maths exercises tailored to the needs of their pupils. To maximise learning and engagement, these packs might include a balance of questions that revisit key concepts from previous units—helping to reinforce core skills—as well as activities that introduce new topics in a friendly, accessible way. Consider including a diverse mix of problem types, such as word problems, number puzzles, and real-life application tasks, to keep children challenged and interested. Adding sections for self-marking or reflection can also encourage independent learning and a sense of ownership over progress. By equipping pupils with these thoughtfully designed packets, teachers provide families with an easy-to-use resource that supports continued maths practice throughout the summer break.

Teachers can provide a list of trusted websites and educational apps where children can independently practise maths skills throughout the summer. Highlighting high-quality, curriculum-aligned platforms—such as Sumdog—gives families access to activities designed to suit a variety of ages and abilities. Using engaging maths apps like Sumdog on a regular basis supports ongoing fluency and helps pupils to strengthen their confidence with key concepts. These digital resources enable pupils to learn at their own pace, setting and achieving personal goals, while also allowing teachers and parents to monitor progress. By encouraging families to explore a selection of these online tools, teachers make it easy for children to fit enjoyable maths practice around their summer adventures, ensuring that learning continues in an accessible, supportive way even outside the classroom.

Encourage children to keep a maths diary where they record and reflect on the ways they use maths in their daily lives over the summer. By jotting down examples of real-world maths, children begin to recognise the subject's relevance beyond the classroom, building confidence and curiosity as they go. This could involve tracking sports statistics, such as their favourite player’s scores or times, calculating distances walked or cycled, budgeting pocket money or family holiday spending, or measuring out ingredients while baking or cooking. Pupils might also estimate totals during shopping trips or work out how long journeys will take based on the distance and speed. Teachers can suggest prompts or questions to spark ideas, or provide a simple template to guide children as they make regular entries. Inviting pupils to share their favourite entries at the start of the new term helps to celebrate initiative and deepens the connection between mathematical thinking and everyday experiences.

4. Communicate With Parents

Send home tips for parents on how they can help maintain their child's maths skills during the summer months. Encourage families to make maths a natural part of daily routines—for example, by involving children in cooking and baking, which offers opportunities to practise measuring, weighing, and working with fractions. Suggest that parents ask their children to help with shopping, comparing prices and calculating costs, or to keep a tally of mileage and travel times on family outings. Setting aside regular, relaxed periods for dedicated maths practice—using worksheets, apps like Sumdog, or quick-fire mental maths games—can boost fluency and confidence. Remind parents that positive conversations about maths and celebrating small achievements can help build a child’s enjoyment and self-belief. By sharing practical suggestions and encouraging everyday engagement, you empower parents to support their child’s learning in meaningful, memorable ways throughout the summer break.

By taking these steps, teachers can help their pupils maintain and even improve their maths skills over the summer, making the transition back to school much smoother.

5. Suggest Some Maths Games to Play at Home

Maths games come in all shapes and sizes, making them a fun and accessible way for children to reinforce and develop key skills over the summer. Whether it’s traditional card games or engaging board games, playing together as a family or with friends helps children practise logic, arithmetic, and problem-solving in a social, low-pressure environment. Many card games, such as Uno or Rummy, encourage counting, recognising patterns, and strategic thinking. Board games like chess, draughts, or Monopoly naturally incorporate essential concepts such as addition, subtraction, money management, and probability.

For families seeking something new, consider exploring inexpensive printable maths board games readily available online, which can be tailored to different ages and levels. Teachers might also share ideas for quick mental maths challenges or suggest family tournaments to add a friendly competitive edge. Incorporating maths games into weekly routines provides children with opportunities to apply what they've learned, boosts confidence, and turns maths into a source of enjoyment and discovery during the holidays. Inviting parents to share positive experiences or favourite games in September can help strengthen home-school relationships and inspire ongoing engagement with maths.

Conclusion

Keeping pupils engaged in maths learning over the summer holidays is an annual challenge for teachers to overcome. Nevertheless, with creativity and commitment, both teachers and parents can equip children with the tools they need to maintain their skills over the summer and prepare them for the new school year.

Why Not Take Part in Our Summer Allstars Challenge?

Our Summer Allstars challenge is the perfect way to keep your pupils motivated to practise their maths skills over the holidays! As children complete their tasks, they climb further up the podium to earn a bronze, silver or gold medal. Let's make building maths fluency fun for your class this summer!