Stopping the Summer Slide

How Parents Can Keep Kids Learning All Summer Long

Every June, as the school year wraps up and children head out to enjoy their long-awaited summer break, many parents and teachers begin to worry about one thing: the summer slide. This term refers to the loss of academic skills and knowledge that can occur over the long summer vacation, especially in reading and maths. While summer is a time for relaxation and play, it doesn’t have to mean a halt in learning. Parents and guardians can turn these months into a season of growth, curiosity, and enrichment with some planning and creativity.

What Is the Summer Slide?

The summer slide isn’t just a catchy phrase—it’s a real and well-documented phenomenon. Studies have shown that, on average, students can lose up to two months of maths skills over the summer. Reading levels, too, can decline, particularly for students who don’t have consistent access to books and literacy activities at home.

For younger children or those already struggling academically, this regression can make it harder to catch up once school restarts in September. However, the good news is that these losses are not inevitable. Some students even gain ground during the summer when they engage in learning activities at home.

Why Summer Learning Matters

Summer is not just a break from the classroom—it’s an opportunity to approach learning in new and engaging ways. Children can explore their interests, develop new skills, and maintain academic momentum in a more relaxed environment without the pressure of homework and rigid schedules.

Strategies for Preventing the Slide

Make Reading a Daily Habit

The single most effective way to prevent summer learning loss in reading is simple: read every day. Set aside at least 15–30 minutes for reading, whether a quiet moment before bed or a morning routine. Let children choose books that interest them—comic books, graphic novels, biographies, or fantasy adventures all count.

Local libraries are goldmines in the summer. Many offer free reading programs, contests, and special events that engage kids. Some even provide book bundles and recommended reading lists by age. Keep an eye on their Facebook page, which is updated regularly.

Use Maths in Everyday Life

Maths can be the trickiest subject to maintain over the summer, but it’s also everywhere once you start looking. Measuring ingredients while cooking, calculating change at a shop, and comparing prices are all excellent ways to practice maths in real life.

Many websites and apps offer fun, game-based maths learning for more structured support. Topmarks.co.uk is a fantastic, free website with everything you need for primary school-level maths.

Create a Learning Routine

Even a loose daily routine can make a big difference. You don’t need to schedule every hour, but setting expectations—for example, 30 minutes of reading, twenty minutes of maths practice, and one creative project a day—can help keep children on track.

A weekly “learning challenge” can add excitement: build a volcano, learn five new words in a different language, research a famous footballer, or write a short story. Let your child take the lead on choosing challenges to keep motivation high.

Use Screen Time Wisely

While setting boundaries around recreational screen time is essential, not all screen use is bad. Educational apps, documentaries, podcasts for kids, and interactive games can turn screen time into learning time. You could use screen time as a reward for completing other tasks, such as twenty minutes of reading and twenty minutes of times tables. Recently, we decided to reduce our daughter's screen and television time, which was initially challenging. However, now she asks for it a lot less, and I’ve noticed her creative side flourish more. If you need a breather, I’ve found that giving her headphones and putting on an audiobook is a guilt-free way to keep children occupied for twenty minutes. Audiobooks have numerous benefits for children: improved listening skills, comprehension skills, increased vocabulary and are also an excellent way for them to relax.

Prevent Summer Learning Loss with Education Support Hub

Education Support Hub is now taking bookings for summer classes. Children must switch off over the break; however, having a weekly top-up session is equally important so they will maintain their progress over the summer holidays. On average, summer learning loss, or the summer slide, can contribute to a 40% loss of knowledge gained in the previous academic year.

Education Support Hub was founded by me, Daniel Guiney, a fully qualified teacher, after returning home from teaching in England in 2019. I'm aware of the pressures of ever-growing classroom sizes and their adverse impact on the individual time available for each pupil. I wanted to provide a service that individually tailors the learning to each child. Time out of the classroom due to lockdowns has also increased the demand for extra help.

I deliver my lessons through the online platform Zoom. Using the private chat feature, Zoom allows me to monitor each child's progress throughout the class. After explaining a topic, I give an assessment question that each child answers through chat to see if anyone needs help understanding it, without alerting all the other children. Over the past few years, I have developed the expertise to use Zoom's tools to deliver an exceptional tutoring experience. If you would like to read more about the benefits of Zoom, please read some of my clients' 5-star reviews.

Daniel Guiney

Education Support Hub Founder

07513286626

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