BUPA CODING DAY Volunteering
Thank you so much for considering volunteering on a Bupa Coding Day, or already signing up. It's a fantastic way to get involved, have fun and feel great because you're helping to inspire the tech innovators of the future! Here's everything you need to know.
What you'll be doing
As a volunteer you'll help our Bupa Coding Days go smoothly, and you'll really make a difference to the children's experience. You'll be helping at a Healthy Lunch-Bot Coding Adventure, for 5 -11 year-olds or at a Net Zero Coding Adventure, for 11-13 year-olds.
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You'll help with the activities, encouraging the children to explore, discover and get excited about coding, and stepping in if children need extra help. You'll also be providing some much-needed support for the teachers, whilst learning and having fun yourself! Here's a summary of what you'll be doing:
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Having fun! Watching our online shows and getting involved with the activities along with 5-11 year-olds or 11-13 year-olds.
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Helping the children - with some fun 'unplugged' (non-tech) activities for 5 -11 year-olds, maybe some 'Scratch' programming for the older ones. And with just a little knowledge of online programs such as Scratch, you could assist with coding activities for 11-13 year-olds.
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Encouraging the children - to play and explore, and use all the coding terms from our show, whilst helping them with their teamwork skills.
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Learning new skills - depending on the school and their choice of activities you could learn to program in Scratch or join in with the Net Zero coding to help the older children.
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Feeling great! Because you're helping to inspire the tech innovators of the future!
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What you won't be doing!
Don't worry - you won't need to stand up in front of the class and teach, and you won't be responsible for children on your own! You also don't need any prior knowledge of coding or computing, so you can cancel that HTML course!
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Preparing
You don't need to do anything specific to prepare for either of our coding adventures, however if you're volunteering at a primary school you might want to watch our trailer video below, so you understand what our Healthy Lunch-Bot show and activities are all about.
If you'd like more detail, please take a look at our Volunteer download page which includes an activities explainer video and additional resources. Note that our Net Zero Coding Adventure is new so we'll upload more information about it in advance of the pilot in March 2025.
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DBS checks
Your school may require you to have a DBS check in advance and they should let you know about this.
At Get with the Program, we usually use the national STEM Ambassador scheme for volunteer DBS checks, and you can apply for free yourself.
Date and timings
Our next Bupa Coding Day is on 20th March 2025 for our Healthy Lunch-Bot Coding Adventure in primary schools. They'll decide individually on the start time, so please reach out to your nominated school to find out what time you're needed if you haven't heard from them beforehand.
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Note that timings for our Net Zero Coding Adventure in secondary schools will vary to fit in with older students' timetables. Please reach out to your nominated school to find out the date and timing details.
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Example schedule
All schools will run their Bupa Coding Days differently, however we've put together an example schedule to show you how a typical Bupa Coding Day Healthy Lunch-Bot timetable might look.
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What to bring on the day
You won't need to bring anything specific - the schools will have all the materials required for the activities - however depending on timings you may need to bring a packed lunch. Please liaise directly with the school regarding where you can leave bags, etc.
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Dress code
Our Healthy Lunch-Bot activities involve setting out grids on the floor and might be inside or outside. There's no specific dress code, but please wear comfortable, appropriate clothing and footwear. Our Net Zero activities are indoors on computers so please wear appropriate clothing for a classroom setting.
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Photography
Photography of children by volunteers typically won't be allowed during the Bupa Coding Day so please be aware of this. The school may have permission to photograph the event after seeking consent from parents, however volunteers are not allowed to take photographs.
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You can, however, take a photo of yourself at the school entrance or sign to show us where you are volunteering - let us know using the following hashtags: #BupaCodingDay #HealthyLunchBot #GetwiththeProgram #GWTP, and please encourage the school to use them too!
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And finally - fancy learning to code?
Scratch is a simple programming language that we use in our activity for older children aged 7-11. If you'd like to learn to code in Scratch so you can help with this activity, please check out our Scratch resources in the Upper and Lower Key Stage 2 sections our Volunteer download page.