DS in tears over school coding club what do you think?

[Mrskeepforgettingmywords]

Signed DS up to after school coding club he has begged me for months and I changed my hours at work so he could go. He left school Thursday in tears he said the teacher sat on her laptop the whole time and handed the kids iPads. He said it was really difficult and when he asked for help she said I don’t have enough time now.

When I picked him up he bursted in to tears right away he has been waiting to go for months so it is that instant disappointment.

Would you expect a coding club to teach kids? Or is it just a get together.

If your ds is saying it was really difficult could you ask if he could have an easier version and then work up to the more difficult one.

Is it because he missed the start in September and the rest are now further ahead.
He may have asked teacher for help with 5 mins to go.
I'd encourage him to give it another try

Can you speak to the school about what the club is so you can manage expectations?

Also, are you sure your child wasn't just a bit upset about finding it more difficult than they expected? The teacher should have helped but if he asked something complicated at the end of the session then maybe there really wasn't enough time to get in to it?

If it’s a club, I would expect there to be some interaction with the teacher, but also with the other kids. Do any of his friends go? Can they do some of it together?

Thanks. I'm curious now and found this Directed Time FAQ which says "After school activities, breakfast clubs, summer school, extracurricular clubs are not included in the 1265 hours of directed time. Teachers should be paid for the additional work."

I thought you was being sarcastic and taking the mick out of my grammar 🤣

Now I’m confused - are you being sarcastic @Mrskeepforgettingmywords ? 🥴🥴🥴

Was this a new club or had been running for some time? What were the other children doing? Is it that the others were completing a project they had already started and the teacher was either not the usual one or had something they needed to complete. Not ideal I know.

You havent answered any questions so a bit difficult to give advice. He needs to give it another week and you need to find out more about the club, what age the other kids are and whether the teacher normally helps the kids out. You may need to look elsewhere,

I sometimes think these primary school after school clubs are a bit disappointing tbh. They’re basic childcare, I think? Quite cheap, also.

Anyway that’s what I’ve discovered after DS has tried loads over the years. Things that cost a bit more and are outside school and run by coding experts etc are better quality.

OP I've inboxed you something that may help your son (not school based)

YANBU, our school’s coding club is taught by a coder (and is charged at the going rate for an, eg, holiday coding course). Are you paying above the going rate for an after school care club? If so, there should be some teaching going on.

I think clubs run by teachers rather than an external provider are normally free in state schools. (Maybe private too, not sure)

I had similar issue with robotics and coding - they just got wedo and tablets and teacher sat on phone.

Bought lego spike and raspberry pi and we do it at home now.

Also I saw it was cheaper to buy wedo (I think it was 10 robots) than do the 10 weeks robotics thing. Plus she could spend all the time she needed but we went with the newer spike and will upgrade to prime eventually as she's 7.

We sometimes invite friends to do it with us. Tbh she gets tablet and can do it herself, did it herself in the class too but complained the boys were naughty and loud so I found a solution.

I agree with previous posters, if it's a free club your expectations were maybe a little high. I'd find a paid coding club for him to attend instead.

I’d expect all clubs in primary school to involve teaching, an opportunity to practice isn’t good enough

Sign up for something like Code Ninjas if there is a franchise near you - they are good

When I worked in a school the coding club was just a time when the children were given an iPad and left to do whatever they wanted in Scratch. They had been learning it in class, so many children just carried on with creating simple games using the skills they covered in class.

I would suggest something like Code Ninjas to progress quickly and learn new skills.

Has it been running since September and it was a get on with project type day? Or it may have been a one off emergency eg different staff member or having to deal with urgent situation.
I’d check what you have signed up to and encourage him to give another try. If it’s same next week then check with school.

Everyone on this thread will be able to identify the teacher now, she’s the one with a screen saver on her arse.
It’ll show through her skirt.

I read it the same way! And was thinking what a weird thing to do, was she trying to make sure the kids wouldn’t touch it?? 🤣

OP the teacher has probably been told to do the club and doesn’t know much about coding. My DS used to end up explaining some coding stuff to his primary school teacher and enjoyed it, maybe he could teach what he knows to the other kids if the teacher is just as uninvolved next week?

I'd have a chat with his class teacher just so they're aware of his experience and to see if they have any insight into the club and what's expected.

Generally, teachers aren’t even obligated to run after school clubs. This can differ in academies where it can be in your contract. It certainly isn’t in mine but we all run one anyway - unpaid.

I think it’s fair to raise it (maybe give it another week), but just bear that in mind. Our school run clubs purely out of goodwill. That doesn’t mean you have a free pass to just sit there as that’s not fair on the kids, but I think it is worth remembering.

I'd ask the teacher what the set up of the club is.

Well I wasn't expecting a thread about coding to be so funny 🤣

Just one other thing to check - was this a later finish than he's used to? He's still little and tiredness/hunger could manifest as tearfulness and 'i didn't like it'. One of mine will say all sorts of negative things about activities that he actually likes when what he means is 'I'm tired and don't feel like doing this right now'...
That might not apply to yours but just worth bearing in mind maybe before getting into the details of what happened at the club.