The young people at your club

Finding young people to attend your Club

Once you’ve set the time and the place, the next step is to think about the young people who will be coming along to your Code Club.

It's important to make these decisions with all the people who will be involved in running the club, so you know that you all agree and are clear on the setup.

Age group

We recommend that your attendees should be between 9 and 13 for Code Clubs, because the projects we provide are aimed at this age group. However, this is flexible to suit your learners, so if you would like to engage younger or older children, go right ahead!

The key thing is to make sure that the activity and the ability of the learners match, otherwise it could be too easy or too hard for them — in both cases they will get bored.

How many attendees?

On average, Code Clubs have around 15 young people attending each session. A good rule is to start with a small group. You can always take on more children once your club is established.

The good thing about Code Club is that is tends to be very popular. But this does mean that, during your planning stages, you need to think about how you will manage the numbers. For example, if your club has space for 14 children, you could advertise that places will be filled on a first come, first served basis. The first 14 children are offered a place for a term. Then the next 14 children from the waiting list are offered a place the following term. — Lorna Gibson, Code Club leader, Wormit Primary School, Fife

Where to find them

When you’re setting up Code Club in a school, finding young people should be pretty easy! However, Code Clubs are often oversubscribed, so it’s worth taking the time to think about what you will do if you have more demand than spaces.

Here are a few ideas of how to spread the word:

• Download a poster from the Code Club website to put up
• Parent newsletters — if there is already a mailing list, that’s a good way to start

Permissions for young people

In most cases, the young people will need permission to take part in the activity you are running. The best person to arrange this is the venue host, as there may already be a system for permissions in place at the venue, especially if it is a school.

If you do need to arrange permissions, the best thing to do is to send a simple letter to parents/guardians that includes:

• An explanation of what Code Club is
• The timings
• A place for them to fill in the child’s name
• Emergency contact information
• Their signature

Once you are part of an Code Club, you will be able to download a template permission letter from your dashboard when you log into your account.

Discussion

How are you recruiting young people for your club? How many young people would you like to attend your club?

Click Join the discussion below to share ideas with other learners on the course.