Girlguiding UK launches programme to teach girls how to code

More than half of girls aged 11 to 21 think STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects are for boys compared with 13 per cent of girls aged seven to 10, according to research by the charity.

More than two-fifths of girls aged seven to 21, who are involved in Girlguiding, think there are not enough female role models in the STEM sector.

• Online Safety Bill: Five key measures aimed at protecting children

• Levelling Up: the key proposals for children and young people

Girlguiding UK has launched a new programme across Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers to challenge these gender stereotypes.

Google and Girlguiding are providing nearly 400,000 girls and young women with opportunities to learn digital skills, including coding and algorithms through the Skills for My Future programme.

Activities involved in the programme include "happy appy" for Rainbows to learn about app designs, Brownies will learn how to write code and fix bugs in "Brownie bots", Guides will learn about chatbots in "chattermatter" and Rangers will be given the opportunity to design phones in "build-a-phone".

Each activity has been designed by Girlguiding’s programme team and Google’s engineers and have been created to be completed offline to ensure they are accessible to all girls regardless of their access to technology.

Peyton, 10, a Brownie from Third Apsley End Brownies, said: “I loved learning how to code. It was so much fun. Fixing bugs was hard, but once I tried it a few times, I could do it.” 

The charity initially teamed up with Google in 2018 to create the digital adventure fun badge for Brownies while the tech giant sponsored the digital design badge for Rangers.

Nicole McWilliams, software engineering manager at Google, said: “Technology is for everyone and can be made by anyone, which is why girls and young women should be able to pursue their interests in it, and have the opportunity to design and build the technology that impacts their lives.

“We hope the digital skills activities we’ve created with Girlguiding will inspire even more girls to learn about technology in a fun way. It’s fantastic seeing the young girls’ faces light up as they begin to understand concepts like coding and learn more about how technology can help to solve all sorts of problems, from the everyday to the epic.”