Today we are launching an exciting video project for our volunteers to participate in!

We want you to submit a short video (1 or 2 minutes would be great) telling us all about your experiences as a Code Club volunteer so far. We hope that by you telling the world about the awesome things you are doing, more people will be inspired to give some of their time to run a Code Club.

In the video you should:

1. Say your name and job title
2. Explain what inspired you to volunteer
3. Describe your experiences setting up the club
4. Discuss what it’s like teaching 9-11 year olds
5. Tell us the best parts about running a Code Club
6. Say anything else that comes to mind!

You don’t need a fancy camera; a phone or web cam will do! It would be great if you could upload the videos straight to YouTube and send us a link so our inbox doesn’t overflow. We’ll then edit them all together using our mad skills to make a short film. Deadline for submissions is Monday 27th May so best get going! If you need any help or want to ask any questions then email sam@codeclub.org.uk

We’re really excited to announce that Code Club can be run anywhere in the UK! We got a whole bunch of emails from people who can’t take time out of work because they are too busy or their bosses are too grumpy. So we’ve been chatting with the lawyer and we’ve worked out a way to have Code Clubs run at venues outside of primary schools.

So now you can run a club at your local library, community centre, museum etc on the weekend or when ever you like! All you need are children, computers, and a supervisor from the venue to manage the children. We’ve built a parental disclaimer system which means you can have parents sign online, no paperwork required.

We also had a LOT of secondary schools wanting to join and hold Code Clubs. And now that’s cool too! As long as you understand our projects have been written for (and will continue to be aimed at) children aged 9-11 then we’re gravy!

And to everyone who asks about the rest of the world… watch this space very carefully in about a month’s time. That’s all we’re saying

MOAR CODE CLUBS!

Code Club now has a group open on the National Stem Centre website! As well our regional Google Groups, our Stem Centre group allows fellow Code Clubbers to connect with each other all over the country.

Code Club thrives on community.  Whether you are running a Code Club yourself, thinking of setting one up yourself or are just interested in following what we’re up to, we want you to be able to connect with Code Clubbers over the country!

Share experiences, stories, ask questions, give tips… whatever you feel! Stay up-to-date on all the latest news and events and meet ups happening over the UK. Thinking of starting your own Code Club? Then why not ask current volunteers about their experiences?

You don’t have to be a STEMNET ambassador to join in – simply sign up here and get involved!

See you in there!

Sam

That’s right. Tell everyone you know.

Specifically we’re looking for programmers to volunteer to run clubs. Without volunteers there are no clubs, they are the life and soul of Code Club.

So please print out this poster and put it up everywhere on every pin board, tree and free bit of wall. Especially near developers! I want to see this poster everywhere I go so if you can’t code but you want to help Code Club then this is a great way to start!

Code Club meet up on Thursday 14th March 6.30pm – 9pm

Are you interested in volunteering for Code Club? Or are you a teacher at a school who is looking for a Code Club volunteer? Then is this the meet up for you!

We’ll kick off with a 10 minute introduction to Code Club from co-founder Clare Sutcliffe then you can quiz her for about 20 minutes.

Then it’s time for some chatting. Meet teachers and volunteers (we’ll label you up accordingly) and have a nice relaxing beverage.

This event will be hosted by the lovely folks at Steer. They teach web development to adults. Check them out here http://www.steer.me/

Register for a ticket here http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5561316046

Come and join us!

P.S  - We’re looking for a kindly sponsor for refreshments. Email parker@codeclub.org.uk

Steer is a new London-based education initiative, teaching fantastic web development and design courses – to adults! They’ve just launched with a great range of lessons, from designing and creating a site in HTML and CSS to teaching how to build and maintain the back-end of your site with Ruby on Rails.

The team at Steer have long been supporters of Code Club, helping us out with everything from our very own website to giving our teachers introductory lessons on how to use Scratch.

Because of this, we’re very pleased to announce Steer’s partnership with Code Club! They have pledged to donate part of their courses entry fee to further bolster the rapid growth of Code Clubs all over the UK. Steer will fund a child in Code Club for a year for every day a person is on a Steer course. So if you’re on a Steer course for 3 days then you’ve funded 3 Code Club children for a year!

“What Code Club has achieved so far has been monumental,” said Rik Lomas, co-founder of Steer. “I feel we have a common goal to get more people, of all ages, learning to code. We’re delighted to lend our support and help turn more of the nation’s kids into expert programmers.”

Thanks Steer!

It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to run Code Club, in fact we pride ourselves on being very lean. But there are costs and we do need financial support. So imagine how pleased we were to hear from ARM. If you don’t know who ARM are then it’s easiest if I explain that if you’re reading this on a laptop or smartphone there is a 90% that there is an ARM chip inside it. Even the Raspberry Pi computer is powered by ARM technology.

ARM are now our first corporate partner and will be financially supporting Code Club throughout this year. They developers have started 12 clubs around their HQ in Cambridge and will be helping us with future terms of projects that we’re planning.

“The UK is home to some of the world’s most innovative companies, creating technology that lies at the heart of familiar and iconic digital products. For the UK to continue to be a world leader in this area, we must inspire and educate the next generation, not only about the use of technology but also about how technology actually works,” said Stephen Pattison, vice president, Public Affairs, ARM.

We’re really pleased to have ARM’s support as it means we can grow Code Club rapidly. Now that we’ve reached a milestone of 500 clubs our next target is 1000. Onwards an upwards!

We’re really pleased to announce our new patron His Royal Highness The Duke of York.

We first met the Duke back in June 2012 when he was kind enough to be part of a video we made whilst we were there. Hopefully you’ve seen it but just incase you haven’t here it is again.

The Duke has a very keen interest in technology and education and is patron of other organisations that strive to inspire children with technology. He is the patron of Teen Tech and fantastic organisation run by Maggie Philbin that organises technology focused events for the teen age group, Young Engineers who do great work inspiring children into engineering and of Harwell Oxford which is a leading centre for technology and innovation.

We held a special assembly this morning at the Soho Parish School where the Duke announce how pleased he was to be able to support Code Club and help us grow. We’re looking forward to working with him in the future to spread the word of Code Club far and wide!

We’re really excited to announce that we are part of a joint project between Google and Raspberry Pi. In the next month Google will deliver over 15,000 Raspberry Pi computers and divide them between five strategic partners and we are very excited to be one of those partners.

We’ll have over 3000 Raspberry Pi computers to distribute throughout our network of Code Clubs!

We’ll be giving some to each of the current clubs and some to the next clubs that sign up (and need them) until they are all gone. Once the Raspberry Pis are in the schools our volunteers will then make sure that after a while they go to the children in the club that will get the most use from them.

We’ll post details about how current clubs can claim their Raspberry Pis very soon but in the meantime keep going with Scratch and start collecting the peripherals you’ll need.

So here’s what to do next:

SCHOOLS
If having hardware to programme on is a problem for your school and you want to start a Code Club then you can make sure you find a volunteer as soon as possible by following the steps on this page http://www.codeclub.org.uk/getting-started/schools.

VOLUNTEERS
If you’d like to volunteer to teach Code Club then follow the steps on this page http://www.codeclub.org.uk/getting-started/volunteers If you already have a club then just sit tight and we’ll be in touch as soon as we begin distribution.

PARENTS
If you are a parent and think this sounds like the kind of thing your children and their friends would enjoy then follow these steps. http://www.codeclub.org.uk/getting-started/parents

Any questions please contact clare@codeclub.org.uk

A new wave of Code Clubs has started this term and we’ve been seeing a lot of volunteers have been blogging about their experiences in running their club. Here’s a list of links of blog posts for those who want to know what it’ll be like.

Neil Smith at Bradwell Village School – Milton Keynes

Katie Piatt at Swiss Gardens Primary School – Shoreham by Sea

John Ward – Code volunteer

Paul Cardno – Code Club volunteer

Winkleink – Code Club volunteer