So far in programming this year the children have been able to explore a variety of different online programmes to develop their coding skills. In year 4 and 5 we have looked at Scratch using the online platform ‘CS First with Google’. With this programme, students use a block-based programming language to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations – and, in the process, learn important computational concepts and problem-solving strategies. So far the children have learnt how to: code movement & dialogue, create their own superhero and design a unique Google logo. 

In year 6, the children have been exploring the coding language ‘Python’ using the online platform ‘TuringLab’ (backed by Amazon Future Engineer). On this platform, the children learn python fundamentals through activities such as: programming a farmbot, setting up smart cities and creating a chatbot. So far the Year 6s have been working through the Farmbot course, where they have learnt about commands, functions, strings and the importance of debugging your code to ensure it runs correctly.