Why children should learn to code with Scratch
Easy to use, colorful and engaging? What's not to love about this beginner friendly coding programme?
With children being exposed to technology from an early age, learning to code has become a valued piece of learning to prepare them for the digital world. Learning to code not only opens up career paths in tech, it also provides learning skills including strategy, creativity, and problem solving.
But how does one start when there are so many programming languages to choose from?
This is where the programme Scratch, is the perfect place to start for young beginners. Developed by the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is a beginner-friendly, block-based programming language that empowers children to create interactive stories, games, and animations.
Encourages Creativity: Scratch is built to foster creativity and imagination in beginners to code. Scratch elements like designs, characters, background and interactive pieces are accessible so children can build whatever they can imagine. From mini games created in their Game Dev Clubs, to digital artwork, this programme gives them all of the easy-to-use tools to work out their creative muscles. This also helps them to find creativity in coding as they learn how using code can assist them with their artistic projects.
Easy to Use Code Blocks: Scratch uses bright colors and a drag-and-drop interface, allowing children to assemble code blocks like puzzle pieces. This visually stimulating program helps young learners to associate code concepts with where they fit together to build their project. It also helps them to associate code concepts by color coding them. By focusing on the logic behind programming concepts rather than syntax, Scratch helps young coders to grasp basic coding concepts in a fun and engaging way.
Promotes Problem Solving: When learning code, children learn to problem solve by breaking code down from a big project into small manageable steps. Scratch encourages those problem solving moments as they encounter challenges such as debugging errors, troubleshooting issues, and optimizing their games. Taking time to fix these errors (with the support of their Code Zone mentor) helps them learn to tackle difficult problems and overcome obstacles not just in coding but in other aspects of life.
Builds Tech Confidence: Playing in Scratch helps children learn to use the computer and develop their technology awareness and confidence from an early age. This is particularly important in the digital age we live in now. Confidence in tech can help them learn online and become digital natives ready to take on the tech industry. It opens up opportunities later in life by having well developed computational thinking and setting them up to be comfortable learning new technology.
Scratch is a great beginner learning program for children to start learning basic coding skills. That is why we proudly use it in our services for young beginners in the Hackers Club.
It is a dynamic and engaging platform for kids to learn coding while honing their creativity, problem-solving abilities, and confidence in tech. Plus, it is super fun!
Who wrote this
We run coding clubs for children aged 6 to 16, so the guides here are written by the mentors who teach them rather than by a marketing team. Live online clubs are open to children anywhere in the UK, and our in-person clubs run across Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
A live club is one hour a week, in a group of no more than six, with the same DBS-checked, STEM-certified mentor.
Children build their own games rather than working through a set course, starting in Scratch or MakeCode and moving to Python and TypeScript when they are ready. More than a third of our members are autistic or have ADHD, based on what parents tell us when they join.
Mentors write a note on every child after every session, which is how we know when somebody is ready to move up a level or would rather stay where they are. Levels move down as readily as up. Nothing is forced, and staying put is a perfectly good outcome.
In 2026 we were ranked second in the UK in Club Hub UK’s Top 100 Children’s Activity Providers, scored by five independent judges on safeguarding, inclusivity and community impact, and in 2025 we received the Autism Inclusion Award from the National Autistic Society. Over 1,000 children are enrolled.
More like this
The blog is in two halves. Guides are the evergreen explainers written by the mentors who teach the clubs, covering the questions parents actually ask: what comes after Scratch, how to support a coding-mad child when you cannot code yourself, and what works for autistic and ADHD children.
Club news is the other half, and it is where posts like this one live: game jams, Minecraft builds and weekly roundups, written up by whoever ran the session. Neither is marketing. If you want to know what an hour actually looks like before you book anything, club news is the more honest read of the two.
The first session is a free taster and we do not ask for card details. Book a free taster session, see what it costs, or read about support for neurodivergent children.
