The Teacher Vault · Code Quest
Teacher Overview
Key Stage 1 (Years 1–2, ages approximately 5–7) · National Curriculum in England: Computing programme of study
Curriculum mapping
| Activity | Statutory KS1 Computing statement(s) | Core / Extension |
|---|
| Guide the Robot | Understand algorithms and precise instructions; create and debug simple programs; use logical reasoning to predict program behaviour | Core |
| Put It in Order | Understand algorithms and precise instructions; use logical reasoning to predict program behaviour | Core |
| Find the Bug | Create and debug simple programs; understand precise instructions; use logical reasoning to predict program behaviour | Core |
| Repeat It | Use logical reasoning to predict program behaviour (repetition itself is a KS2, not KS1, requirement) | Extension — prepares for KS2 |
| Choose a Route | Use logical reasoning to predict program behaviour (selection itself is a KS2, not KS1, requirement) | Extension — prepares for KS2 |
| Computer, AI or Person? | Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school; use technology safely and respectfully, keep personal information private, know where to get help | Core |
| Create and Save | Use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content | Core |
This programme of study applies in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own curricula, and this mapping should not be assumed to transfer unchanged.
Learning objectives
- Pupils can give and follow a short sequence of precise, unambiguous instructions.
- Pupils can predict what a simple program will do before running it, and compare the result with their prediction.
- Pupils can identify a fault in a program, fix it, and test their fix.
- Pupils can recognise everyday uses of technology beyond the classroom, and understand that a program follows fixed instructions while AI makes pattern-based guesses that can be wrong.
- Pupils can identify private information, name a trusted adult, and describe what to do if something online worries them.
- Pupils can create, save, retrieve and amend a simple piece of digital content.
Suggested activity order and timings
| # | Activity | Approx. time |
|---|
| 1 | Guide the Robot | 15–20 minutes |
| 2 | Put It in Order | 15–20 minutes |
| 3 | Find the Bug | 15–20 minutes |
| 4 | Repeat It (extension) | 10–15 minutes |
| 5 | Choose a Route (extension) | 10–15 minutes |
| 6 | Computer, AI or Person? | 15–25 minutes (can be split) |
| 7 | Create and Save | 20–30 minutes |
Activities can be completed in any order, or spread across several short sessions — there is no need to complete all seven in one sitting.
Success criteria (what to look for)
- Guide the Robot / Find the Bug: makes a genuine prediction before running a program; builds a correctly-ordered sequence; amends a program that does not work.
- Put It in Order: correctly sequences digital-task steps; identifies precise instructions over vague ones.
- Repeat It / Choose a Route: notices a repeated pattern or a concrete if-this-then-that rule; can explain it in their own words.
- Computer, AI or Person?: matches technology to everyday contexts; distinguishes a program, AI and a person; identifies private information and a trusted adult.
- Create and Save: creates content using more than one tool; saves and retrieves work; produces a second, different piece of work.
Evidence-of-learning ideas
- Ask a pupil to talk through their prediction before they press Run, and again after, to hear their reasoning.
- Note which pupils spot a bug independently versus needing a hint about where to look.
- Ask pupils to explain, in their own words, the difference between a computer program and AI.
- Ask a pupil to name their trusted adult and what they would tell them about.
- Look at a pupil's two saved pictures in Create and Save side by side and ask them to describe what they changed.
KS1 computing vocabulary used across Code Quest
Introduced gradually, in context, with child-friendly definitions inside each activity.
- Technology
- Computer
- Device
- Instruction
- Command
- Order
- Sequence
- Algorithm
- Program
- Predict
- Test
- Bug
- Debug
- Create
- Organise
- Store
- Retrieve
- Private information
- Trusted adult
"Loop" and "condition" are deliberately not used anywhere in Code Quest -- repetition and selection are introduced only through the plain-language framing "Repeat" and "if this, then that" inside the two clearly-labelled extension activities.
Offline follow-up ideas
- Give and follow a short set of exact walking directions around the classroom or garden.
- Write a short set of instructions for a simple task, then deliberately swap two steps and ask someone to spot the bug.
- Spot repeated actions in daily life (clapping a rhythm, laying the table) and count how many times they repeat.
- Play a simple "if this, then that" game, e.g. "if the door is open, tiptoe through."
- Go on a short technology hunt at home or on an outing, and sort what is found into a list of where it was seen.