Teachers 'not confident enough' to teach code

Ocado Technologies polled 250 UK primary schools recently and discovered that the majority do not have access to sufficient hardware, resources or training. On the back of the findings, the company has launched a coding initiative called Code for Life that will arm Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2 teachers with the tools they need to teach coding effectively. The main part of the initiative is a free teaching resource called Rapid Router, which includes various lesson plans, activity guides and coding career videos. The web app also features 25 levels for pupil progression and a function where children can create their own challenges. Pupils can then progress from visual programming language Blockly to the more complex Python. Paul Clarke, director of technology at Ocado, said: "As a technology company at its core, Ocado relies on recruiting a constant stream of the brightest and best software engineers and other IT specialists to fuel its continued growth and disruptive innovation. "We wanted to find a way to give something back by investing in the next generation of computer scientists, while hopefully increasing the number of girls selecting technology subjects. "Code for Life provides a tangible and relevant way for our engineers to volunteer their time to help support the introduction of computing into the primary school curriculum in September."