Term-Time Games Design 4 Kids (age 11-14)

To book this course, select your options from the “Book Course” section on this page and then click on “Add to Basket”.  You can also add other courses (on other pages) to the Basket. Once you are happy with the course selection in the Basket, click “View Basket” to complete your booking.

 

Course Information

The Games Design 4 Kids course introduces kids to designing and coding 2D video games for computers, mobile devices, and the web.

Using the Stencyl tool and it’s built-in visual programming language, users drag and drop code from a palette of “code blocks”, snapping them in place and nesting within each other, enabling the creation of advanced logic from basic components. This course is a next step in progression after completing our “Coding 4 Kids” course.

This course is recommended for children aged 11-14 who have extensive experience with block languages (such as Scratch) and want to branch into creating games for web, mobile and desktop using professional-level tools.

 

 

Term Dates

The Online & In-person Spring 2023 Term starts the weekend of Saturday 14th January and runs until Saturday 25th March 2023 (inclusive).

Please make note of the following weekends, when there will be no coding sessions:

• Saturday 18th February – Half-Term

For our In-person classes we are based at James Allen’s Girls’ School (JAGS), which has multiple points of access. The entrance to Spark4Kids at JAGS is Green Dale, off 144 East Dulwich Grove, LONDON, SE22 8TE. The Green Dale entrance leads to our new location within the JAGS campus – the 6th Form block.

 

Session Structure

With a tutor-to-child ratio of 1:6, each child completes their coding challenges in their own time, and at their own pace – and always with a tutor on hand to provide support. Sessions for each course are held once a week, and children registered on a course will be expected to attend on a weekly basis, on the day and at the time chosen at the time of course registration.

The fun nature of our courses enables children to learn instinctively, and at a pace they are comfortable with. Whilst we provide the environment for learning and remain on-hand for support, once guidance is provided, the children take ownership of the code they create, and they love it.

At the end of coding sessions, it is not uncommon to hear children asking for extra time because they want to continue working on their coding challenges!

 

Starting After Term Has Begun

With Spark4Kids, there is no such thing as a late start – your child can start with us any week during the term.

Our courses are designed to allow children to learn at their own pace, meaning that your child can join us after the term has started and not miss out.

The earlier you book your child on a course though, the more likely you are to obtain a space.

 

Pro Rata Term Fees

Children who register after the start of the term (or after a Taster Session) will have their fees calculated on a pro rata basis. The fee is dependent on each child’s individual start date, and will be automatically calculated during the booking process.

 

Taster Sessions

For a nominal fee, we offer taster sessions for any child who would like to try things out before committing to the rest of the term.

During the Taster Session, we will evaluate the child’s ability with a view to making a recommendation regarding which course they might want to consider. Of course, if the child (or parent) has their own views on what course they want to attend, we will do our best to accommodate or suggest a path towards being able to eventually take the preferred course.

• Further information about our Online Taster Sessions can be found here: Book an Online Taster Session
• Further information about our In-Person Taster Sessions can be found here: Book an In-Person Taster Session

 

Double Sessions

For most courses it is possible to book double sessions for your child for the term – simply add the second session you want to the shopping cart, and the fee for the second booking will automatically attract a 10% discount when you checkout.

 

Safeguarding Policy

All of our tutors are DBS-checked, and our website as well as virtual LIVE! classrooms have high levels of security built-in, using standard security protocols to secure yours and our data.

All sessions are also monitored continuously, and our tutors will not tolerate bullying, bad language or inappropriate questions, conversations or content.

Follow this link to access the Safeguarding Policy.

 

Further Information

We offer sibling discounts, payment by instalments and payment using childcare vouchers on all our courses.

 

Paying by Instalments

Spark4Kids accepts payment by instalments on some of our courses, provided the booking is completed early (the option is not available if booking within a month of the course start date).

To pay for a course by instalments, kindly select the course you want, add to basket, and then proceed to check-out by clicking “View Basket” (you may need access to your email account). At check-out, choose “Pay by Instalments” as the payment option, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your booking.

 

Sibling Discounts

We offer sibling discounts for families with more than one child enrolled with Spark4Kids. A discount of 10% is automatically deducted from the second child’s fees.

For term-time bookings, children looking to have double sessions during term-time are also offered a 10% discount off the second hour of the session. For workshop bookings, children who are booked on a second workshop also attract a 10% discount on the second workshop.

Discounts are automatically applied during the booking process if all courses are included in the same shopping basket and paid for at the same time. They do not apply if sessions for siblings or other multiple sessions are booked and paid for in separate transactions.

 

Childcare Vouchers

Spark4Kids accepts childcare vouchers as fee payment towards all of our courses from the following childcare voucher providers:

• Bravo Benefits (formerly Busy Bees)
• Care-4
• Childcare Grants
• ComputerShare
• Co-operative Flexible Benefits
• Edenred
• Employers For Childcare
• Enjoy Benefits
• FairCare
• Fideliti
• KiddiVouchers
• My Family Care
• NW Brown
• Reward Gateway
• Sodexo
• UK Government Tax-Free Credit vouchers (via Childcare Choices)
• Wider Plan

To pay for a course using childcare vouchers, select the course you want, add to basket, and then proceed to check-out by clicking “View Basket” (you may need access to your email account).

At check-out, choose “Pay with Childcare Vouchers” as the payment option, and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your booking (you will be emailed Spark4Kids voucher payment details in order for you to complete payment via your childcare providers website).

We can also accept a fee payment that is split between a childcare voucher payment and a standard debit/credit card payment (e.g. if your remaining childcare voucher balance isn’t enough to cover the course fee). To do this, kindly get in touch using the contact details listed in the footer of this page.

Stencyl System Requirements

The system requirements below only apply if your child is attending the online, remotely accessible version of this course.

Icons courtesy of Icon8

• Hardware: Desktop computer, microphone and speakers (or headset with mic), mouse and keyboard, a fast internet connection.
• Operating System: Windows 7 or above, Macs (OS X 10.14 Mojave or above) and Linux (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or later/ Debian Jessie or later/or libc6 2.15 or later)
• License: Free
• Memory: 1GB
• Disk Space: 390MB

To find out what your computers’ technical specifications are, kindly use the links below:

• Microsoft Windows
• Apple Mac
• Google Chromebook

Our online classroom software requires minimum internet speeds of 5 Mbps for upload and 15 Mbps for download. The vast majority of broadband providers’ packages will exceed these speeds. To test the speed of your broadband click the link below:

Check My Speed