BLOCK CODING, EXPLAINED

Snap the blocks,
see it move.

Scratch turns code into building blocks.

Children drag coloured blocks together to make stories, games and animations, with no typing and no syntax errors to fight. It came out of the MIT Media Lab in 2007 and is now one of the most common first steps into programming.

Find a starting point Read the short answer

A child's hands on a laptop keyboard at a kitchen table, the screen showing colourful coding blocks beside a cartoon character — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

01 Make something first02 Fix the bugs03 Share and remixHow children learn to code

THE SHORT ANSWER

Real programming,
in coloured blocks.

Scratch removes the typing, not the thinking.
The ideas are the same ones the curriculum asks for.

WHAT IT IS

Code you can snap together

Children build programs by joining graphical blocks, like building bricks, instead of typing code. MIT designed it for ages 8 and up and released it free in 2007.

Find the right level

IN SCHOOL

It fits the curriculum

England's computing curriculum asks Key Stage 2 pupils to use sequence, selection and repetition and to work with variables. Those are exactly the ideas Scratch blocks are built around.

See the numbers

YOUNGER CHILDREN

ScratchJr for ages 5 to 7

ScratchJr is the version for young children aged 5 to 7, who use it to program their own interactive stories and games.

First projects

WHERE TO START

What does the curriculum
expect at each stage?

Pick a stage to see what England's national curriculum for computing asks of children, and where Scratch fits. The bar shows how far the programming expectations reach.

Based on the Department for Education's computing programmes of study and ScratchJr guidance. General information for parents.

Stage finder

Choose a stageAges 5 to 7, first tapsKey Stage 1Key Stage 2Key Stage 3

Ages 5 to 7, first tapsTry ScratchJr

ScratchJr is made for young children aged 5 to 7, who program their own interactive stories and games.

Key Stage 1Simple programs

Pupils learn what algorithms are, that programs follow precise and unambiguous instructions, and how to create and debug simple programs.

Key Stage 2Scratch fits well

Pupils design, write and debug programs with goals, use sequence, selection and repetition, and work with variables and inputs and outputs.

Key Stage 3Add a typed language

Pupils use two or more programming languages, at least one of them textual. Block coding can be one language, but a typed one is required too.

Sources: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: computing programmes of study; ScratchJr, About ScratchJr.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

A first language
for a generation.

How many children have used Scratch,
and how much they have made with it.

CHILDREN · SCRATCH FOUNDATION

Children who have created with Scratch since 2007

130<small> million+</small>

The Scratch Foundation says more than 130 million children, in every country worldwide, have created Scratch projects since 2007.

PROJECTS · SCRATCH FOUNDATION

Scratch projects created so far

1<small> billion+</small>

Those children have made more than a billion projects, and the Foundation says young people create over half a million new ones each day.

Scratch was designed in 2007 by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, and became the independent Scratch Foundation in 2019.

A small child's finger tapping large picture blocks on a tablet lying flat on a wooden table — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR FIRST PROJECTS

Start small,
then build up.

Each project adds one idea from the computing curriculum. Do them in order and a child meets sequence, repetition, selection and debugging in a single afternoon.

Make a character moveStack a few movement blocks in order. That is a sequence: the program follows precise instructions, one after another.
Make it danceWrap the moves in a loop so they happen again and again. That is repetition.
Make it reactAdd an if block so the character does something when a key is pressed or it touches something. That is selection.
Break it, then fix itWhen something goes wrong, ask the child to predict what the code will do, then find the bug. The curriculum calls this debugging.

WHAT CHILDREN LEARN

More than
just coding.

The MIT Media Lab says young people using Scratch build interactive stories, games and animations and share them with an online community. Along the way they pick up creative thinking, systematic reasoning and teamwork, as well as maths and computing ideas.

When MIT launched Scratch in 2007, it said children could make stories, games, music and animations and share them online, learning to think creatively and solve problems systematically.

Two children seen from behind at a classroom desk, pointing at a laptop screen with a simple animated game — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK

Frequently asked

What is Scratch?

A block-based programming language for children. Instead of typing code, children join graphical blocks to build interactive stories, games, music and animations. It was developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab.

What age is Scratch for?

MIT designed Scratch for children aged 8 and up. ScratchJr is the version for young children aged 5 to 7.

Is Scratch part of the school curriculum?

The national curriculum in England does not name any particular tool. It asks Key Stage 2 pupils to design, write and debug programs using sequence, selection and repetition, which block coding like Scratch is well suited to.

Is block coding real programming?

Yes. The ideas are the same: algorithms, sequence, selection, repetition, variables and debugging. At Key Stage 3, the curriculum asks pupils to use two or more languages, at least one of them textual.

Who runs Scratch now?

Scratch was created at the MIT Media Lab in 2007 and became the independent Scratch Foundation in 2019.

SOURCES

Where the facts come from

Each figure on this page comes from the sources below. Check them for the full detail and context.

Snap the blocks,see it move.

Real programming,in coloured blocks.