Today we’re unveiling a fresh look and feel for Code Club, along with a new ambition to inspire 10 million more young people to get creative with technology over the next decade.
Code Club is a network of free coding clubs where young people learn how to create with technology. Founded in the UK in 2012, it has grown to be a global movement that has already inspired more than 2 million young people to learn how to build their own apps, games, animations, websites, and so much more.
We know that Code Club works. Independent evaluations have demonstrated that attending a Code Club helps young people develop their programming skills as well as wider life skills like confidence, resilience, and skills in problem-solving and communication. This impact is a result of the positive learning environment created by the teachers and volunteers that run Code Clubs, with young people enjoying the activities and developing skills independently and collaboratively — including young people who sometimes struggle in a formal classroom setting.
Just as important, we know that Code Clubs inspire young people from all backgrounds, including girls and young people from communities that are underrepresented in the technology sector.
What’s changing and why
While we are incredibly proud of the impact that Code Club has already achieved, we want to see many more young people benefiting, and that led us to set the ambitious goal to reach 10 million more young people over the next decade.
To help us figure out how to reach that ambition, we spent a lot of time this year listening to the community as well as engaging with parents, teachers, and young people who aren’t yet involved in Code Club. All of the changes we’ve made have been informed by those conversations and are designed to make it easier for educators and volunteers all over the world to set up and run Code Clubs.
The biggest change is that we are making Code Club a more flexible model that can be adapted to reflect your local context and culture to ensure that it is as meaningful as possible for the young people in your community.
That means you can host a Code Club in a school or a community venue, like a library or makerspace; you can choose the age range and rhythm of meetings that make sense for your setting; and you can tailor the activities that you offer to the interests and skills of the young people you are serving. In order for the movement to be as inclusive as possible, you don’t even need to be called ‘Code Club’ to be an ‘Official Raspberry Pi Foundation Code Club’ and benefit from all the support we offer.
To support this change, we have developed a Code Club Charter that we ask all club leaders and mentors to sign up to. This sets out the principles that are shared by all Code Clubs, along with the commitments that the Raspberry Pi Foundation is making about our support to you.
We have launched a new website that makes it easier for you to find the information you need to set up and run your Code Club, along with an updated and simplified club leader guide. In a few weeks time, we are launching a new online course with guidance on how to run a successful club, and we will be adding to our programme of online community calls, webinars, and training to support a growing community of club leaders and mentors.
One of the most important parts of our support for Code Clubs is the projects that help young people learn how to bring their ideas to life using a wide range of hardware and software. As they are created by experienced educators, based on research, rigorously tested, and translated into dozens of languages, you can have confidence that these projects lead to meaningful and lasting learning outcomes for the young people attending your club. Code Club projects enable young people to learn independently, meaning that mentors don’t need technical skills.
What this means for CoderDojos
Alongside Code Club, the Foundation supports CoderDojo, a network of coding clubs that started life in Cork, Ireland in 2011 and merged with the Raspberry Pi Foundation in 2017.
In order to reduce duplication and make it easier for anyone to set up and run a coding club, we have decided to bring together the resources and support for all club leaders and mentors under one website, which is the new Code Club website.
There is no need for existing CoderDojos to change their name or anything about the way they operate. All registered CoderDojos will be able to manage their club in exactly the same way through the new website, and to access all of the support and resources that we offer to all coding clubs. New clubs will be able to register as CoderDojos.
The ethos, experiences, and lessons from the CoderDojo community have been a vital part of the development of the new Code Club. We have worked hard to make sure that all existing CoderDojos feel that their values are reflected in the Charter, and that the guidance and resources we offer address their circumstances.
CoderDojos will very much remain part of this community, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation will continue to celebrate and learn from the amazing work of CoderDojos all over the world.
Code Club in the age of artificial intelligence
With AI already transforming so many parts of our lives, it’s not surprising that some people are starting to ask whether young people even need to learn to code anymore.
We’ve got a lot to say on this subject — so watch this space — but the short version is that learning how to create with technology has never been more important. The way that humans give instructions to computers is changing, and Code Club provides a way for young people to experiment with new technologies like AI in a safe environment. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be launching new Code Club projects that support young people to learn about AI technologies, including generative AI, and we’ll be providing support for club leaders and mentors on the topic too.
Thank you and get involved
I want to end by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has been part of the Code Club journey so far, and particularly to everyone who has worked so hard on this project over the past year — far too many people to name here, but you know who you are. I also want to thank all of the parents, teachers, mentors, and partners who have provided the feedback and ideas that have shaped these changes.
Code Club and CoderDojo were both founded in the early 2010s by individuals who wanted to give more young people the opportunity to be digital creators, not just consumers. From that first Dojo in Cork, Ireland, and the first Code Clubs in London, UK, we’ve built a global movement that has empowered millions of young people to engage confidently with a world that is being transformed by digital technologies.
It’s never been a better time to get involved with Code Club, so please take a look and get in touch if you need any help or support to get started.
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