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Ocado Group uses its technology expertise to develop skills for the future through Code for Life

January 14, 2025
3 min read
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For over 10 years Code for Life (CFL) has been providing free coding resources to teachers and independent learners to inspire, educate and reduce the barriers to coding. What started as an idea within Ocado Group has now grown into a recognised non-profit initiative, empowering over 700,000 users since its inception, and continuing to impact on a global scale.   

We are committed to shaping the skills needed in technology, today and for the future. Code for Life does just that, ensuring coding is accessible for everyone. The innovative, in-house developed technologies that power our learning resources are helping to address significant challenges in the technology space, from diversifying the STEM area to equipping the next generation with fundamental skills for the future.

Code for Life’s mission 

Code for Life is run by a team in Ocado Technology, supported by an army of volunteers across Ocado, as well as external contributors and partners.  

The organisation was formed on the fundamental belief that coding should be accessible for everyone, no ifs or buts. By inspiring people to engage in computing at a young age and consider roles within the technology space, we are helping to build skills for the future and encourage more diversity in STEM.

The coding resources we provide are completely free, offering a selection of coding games, lesson plans and teacher materials to empower educators and students. These are now being supplied to representatives in over 170 countries from Canada to India. 

A glimpse into the technology behind Code for Life

Code for Life gamifies technical learning. Take our learning resource, Rapid Router, where learners are introduced to common coding concepts in an intuitive and enjoyable way. The aim of this task is to choose the most optimal route for a delivery van to get from a fulfilment site to the customer’s doorstep. Along the way, they will encounter the fundamentals of coding like sequencing and creating algorithms – using Blockly, a block based approach to coding.

As the user becomes more familiar with coding concepts and develops their technical knowledge, they are exposed to Python Den. This is our text-based approach to programming, which is supported by a code editor allowing students to write code directly into the platform. The brilliance behind these resources is that they are flexible and adaptable, with teachers able to assign and create their own levels, edit supporting slides and worksheets, restrict access, and increase the difficulty as time goes on.

Thanks to the passion and dedication of the Code for Life team, we’re continuously expanding and evolving our products, crafting learning paths that suit students at different stages of their coding journey. Through engaging games, lesson plans, videos, and workshops, we have strived to make coding not only accessible but also fun, igniting curiosity and creativity from a young age.

Code for Life’s global impact 

Code for Life is reinforcing Ocado Group’s commitment to the community and responsible business by equipping students and new learners to develop the skills of the future. 

“Code for Life is having a global impact on educators and students – promoting underrepresented groups in technology, such as women and ethnic minorities and helping all learners to embrace technology skills for the future. 

Julia Rowe, Sustainability Director at Ocado Group

This year we’ve also had a positive impact on the community by promoting the representation of women in STEM. We’ve brought in women at Ocado to talk at schools across the country about their experiences to students to see that technology and engineering roles are accessible to everyone. Another valuable initiative we hosted was the celebration of Ada Lovelace Day last year. CFL delivered a presentation to In2Science Alumni to advise STEM students on CVs, job interviews and getting into a career in technology. 

Code for Life is also helping career changers to see the benefits of coding. In a recent partnership with Developwise CIC, we launched a series of sessions for disadvantaged communities in Luton. The event offered attendees of all ages and abilities the opportunity to explore the basics of Python programming from writing their first programme to understanding different data types. 

We are continually expanding our horizons by exploring new opportunities through partnerships with organizations such as Barefoot Computing, CS in Schools, and BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT). In 2025, the team is excited to showcase our fun interactive games, teaching resources, careers work, and robotics workshops. Although our mission is far from complete, our team continues to equip students and new learners with the essential skills they need for the future.

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