Start a Dojo

Why should you run a Dojo?

Everyone who runs a Dojo is providing children with an incredible opportunity to create something cool with code. People have told us that running a Dojo has been a great way to give back to their local community and to meet others who share their passions.

Being involved with CoderDojo has also helped champions to develop their organisational, team-building, youth work, and mentoring skills. All champions have access to learning and organisational resources to help them each step of the way, as well as opportunities to get involved in fun activities, initiatives, and events.

Many people also join CoderDojo to be part of a global network and community with values they admire.

Mentor pointing at Scratch on a screen

What does starting a Dojo involve?

CoderDojo champions are passionate, driven (and often not technical!) volunteers who take charge of setting up and running a Dojo.

  1. Complete our start a Dojo application, which includes some training around safeguarding and working with children.
  2. Find a public venue to hold your Dojo events. Libraries, offices, and community centres are often used to host Dojos.
  3. Schedule your first event using our online events system.
  4. Use some of over 200 ready-made coding projects to run a great first Dojo session.

When you become a Dojo champion, we will support you as you build and grow your Dojo.

What does a Dojo look like?

It looks fun! This short video provides an example structure of a Dojo session.

One of the great things about CoderDojo is that once you follow the Charter, you can adapt your Dojo sessions to suit your local situation and the interests and skills of your volunteers and participants.

Need additional support?

We offer an on-demand webinar (19 minutes) for you to watch if you want more information about starting a Dojo and how our team will support you. We also provide a free online course for people who would like more structured training to start a Dojo.

In our help section, you'll find great articles to answer your questions and you can ask us for advice directly!

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