Our coding for kids curriculum takes your child from novice to expert

We suggest starting our Scratch Beginner course at age 7 or older.

To ensure optimal engagement and understanding in our Beginner program, it’s essential that our youngest learners possess fluent reading skills, basic mathematical proficiency including addition and subtraction, and independent computer navigation using a keyboard and mouse (or trackpad).

Our Beginner course introduces fundamental mathematical concepts such as the X & Y coordinate system, negative and decimal numbers, as well as angles and degrees. Given that these concepts are entirely new to most of our beginner students, significant time is allocated to explaining and demonstrating their functionalities. Therefore, it’s important that students have some grasp of addition and subtraction to facilitate comprehension.

Our curriculum is crafted around exceptionally entertaining and captivating projects. Initially developed for our own children and their peers, we rigorously test each new project, selecting those with the highest levels of engagement.

Additionally, we continuously refine our curriculum annually, enhancing existing projects for greater enjoyment and introducing new ones.

Consequently, our syllabus includes numerous extension projects that our coding instructors may incorporate as they see fit. The fact that our students typically remain with us for 5-6 years serves as a testament to the sheer enjoyment and engagement offered by our program.

Based on our experience (we’ve been teaching coding to school children from Grade 1 to Grade 12 since 2015), its best to start teaching kids Java or Python when they have strong understanding of the key coding concepts such as Loops, If statements, Variables, Lists, Booleans, Functions, Recursive Algorithms and so on.

From our perspective, it’s better to first explain all these concepts using Scratch, make sure students can confidently apply these concepts themselves, and then move to teaching the same concepts in Java or Python.

Also, when moving to Java or Python it is very important that students are able to fluently type without any syntax or spelling errors, because any typing error will cause an error in Java or Python code, which is very frustrating and may be very demotivating for young children.

Hence, in our syllabus students go through the Scratch Beginner course (one year) then progress to Scratch Intermediate course (one year) and only after that they progress to Java or Python if they pass Scratch exams successfully. Therefore, those students who start with us at the age of 7 are able to start learning Java or Python at the age of 9.

High school students who do not have Scratch experience and who are new to our school are welcome to start learning Java or Python with us from the age of 12-year-old. By the time they enrol in coding courses, high school students have often developed proficient typing abilities, allowing them to focus more on understanding and implementing coding concepts rather than struggling with syntax typing errors. This allows for a more efficient and productive learning experience, facilitating a deeper understanding of coding languages and their practical applications in various projects and scenarios.

By the end of each course, all students undergo a formal assessment, and parents receive individual reports outlining the achievements and progress of their child along with a certificate of completion.

For students who may not meet the required standards, the opportunity to repeat the final level of their course is offered at no additional cost.

Students joining in Terms 2, 3, or 4 will commence their learning journey alongside new cohorts. Our courses are structured to accommodate fresh intakes each term, ensuring that your child won’t be behind and won’t need to catch up. In these terms, all students in your child’s class will be beginners, fostering a supportive environment for everyone. As such, your child is warmly welcomed to join our program starting from any term.

The schedule for new classes is typically available at the conclusion of each term and can be found on the Schedule page.

We highly recommend that your child uses a laptop or desktop device (rather than an iPad) for optimal participation. This setup enables them to have two windows open simultaneously: one for the coding environment and the other for Zoom, where they will interact with a CODE4FUN instructor.

During our Zoom sessions, your child will need to operate two separate programs in two distinct windows:

• The Zoom window, where they will view our instructor and their shared screen, guiding them through the session’s activities.
• A web browser window, where they will engage in coding projects (utilising platforms such as Scratch, Openprocessing for Java, or Trinket for Python).

Hence, we strongly recommend using a setup that facilitates multitasking, such as a large monitor allowing for side-by-side window placement, a laptop with a spacious screen, dual monitors, or two separate devices — one for Zoom and one for coding.

An ideal combination might be an iPad for Zoom and a laptop for coding practice. It’s important to note that a single iPad will not suffice, as its screen size typically restricts the ability to fully display two windows side by side.

If your child misses a class or several classes, please reach out to us. We will promptly provide you with all the necessary materials and resources to help your child catch up effectively with the rest of the class.

Yes, our refund policy allows for withdrawals at any time, with refunds issued for the remaining classes.

While we don’t host our own competitions, we encourage participation in national events like the Australian STEM Video Game Coding Challenge. This prestigious competition, open to students from Grade 3 to Grade 12, offers an opportunity for our students to showcase their skills and has seen previous successes from our participants.

In 2019 CODE4FUN students won this challenge and came first in the Scratch category. In 2023 our student came second in the Scratch category.  We are very proud of our students’ achievements. Should you have any further questions or require additional information about this challenge, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are committed to providing prompt and helpful assistance to ensure the best possible experience for you and your child.

Yes, we teach students how to build their own AI projects age-appropriately. For example, our Scratch Beginner students learn how to code their own prototype of a self driving car, where a car object ‘sees’ a road using sensors and follows it. Or a pong game game versus a computer where a program ‘learns’ and adjusts to a player level. These simple projects help younger learners build the logic skills AI relies on.

In more senior courses such as Python & AI we focus on data structures, Breadth First Search, Depth First Search and the basics of AI. Students start with building simple AI games such as Tic Tac Toe, Connect 4 and Minesweeper, and then progress to developing more complex AI projects such as famous AI Boids  algorithm, AI Maze Solver (AI Path finder), and AI Ecosystem Training Simulator.