accessories left over from his little sister’s birthday party. The takings are donated to his school charity and
organisations such as Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
The question becomes how can parents harness the positive aspects of technology to use it effectively?
Tweedale argues that there are four different types of screen time – creative, communicative, active and
passive. “How we regulate screen time always changes and is individual to every child. We’ll try to limit
passive screen, that’s when they’re just watching TV or YouTube. But there’s also communicative screen
time, where they might be writing an email or talking to their grandma on FaceTime and then there’s also
the creative and active use, where they’ll use it to learn something or do a creative activity.”
Both her children (her youngest daughter is just 16 months old) have to ask for authorisation before using
their screens and explain what they’ll use them for. There’s also no passive screen time allowed during
weekdays. “Essentially, if they can come up with an argument to say, this is why I need the screen time and
this is what I’m going to do with it, they can break the rules. ”
‘Tech will be an essential part of our
children’s working lives whatever
career they choose’ (Cypher)The idea that technology can empower children to be confident, proactive problem-solvers is also what
she’s trying to encourage through Cypher’s week-long courses or after-school clubs. During the classes
children will learn how to code and then use their skills for a creative project. For example, during the
coding and fashion class, children are taught how to use their new skill to design digital artwork.
Prices vary depending on location and timings (half-term or summer break) from £245 for a three-day
course and up to £400 for a week-long workshop. After-school clubs are cheaper at £160 for the term with
one hour of activity per week. Since its launch in 2016, Cypher’s team has grown from three to 50 teachers
and the start-up has hosted over 1,000 children in its coding camps. About 150 students come to after-
school clubs on a weekly basis.
So what makes it stand out from other coding workshops? According to Tweedale, it comes down to
Cypher’s engaging creative themes as well as the company’s focus on getting more girls into the
discipline. About 45 per cent of the camp’s participants are female – one of Tweedale’s proudest
achievement. “Video games are still more steered toward boys rather than girls. I grew up playing Super
Mario Bros and at the time you couldn’t choose to be a girl as a character, you could only save the princess.
Or you would have Tomb Rider but she was more of a projection for teenage boys.