Chris Chairman Of The Board
I deal with all the boring stuff!
More about Chris
With 17 years of executive board experience, Chris brings a wealth of experience in business management and finance to The Code Zone!
With 17 years of executive board experience, Chris retired as an executive in March 2017 to focus as a non-exec director on his personal and professional interests of helping growing businesses; developing communities and; the skills agenda. Chris is Chair, Business and Finance Manager ensuring that the business is well managed whilst creativity and innovation isn’t constrained. [Or as Paul would say “all the boring stuff”!]
Our mentors
Every Code Zone mentor is background-checked and STEM-certified, and is trained to adapt to how a child learns rather than expecting the child to adapt. Mentors write a note on every child, which is how we know when somebody is ready to move up a level, or would rather stay where they are.
The Academy is self-paced, so there is no fixed hour and nothing to be late for. Children build their own games instead of following a set course, starting in Scratch, and a mentor answers by text and video message during the week. Levels move down as readily as up, and staying put is a perfectly good outcome.
More than a third of our members are autistic or have ADHD, based on what parents tell us when they join. In 2025 we received the Autism Inclusion Award from the National Autistic Society, and in 2026 we were ranked second in the UK in Club Hub UK’s Top 100 Children’s Activity Providers, judged by five independent judges on safeguarding, inclusivity and community impact.
Questions parents ask about our mentors
- Are Code Zone mentors background-checked?
- Yes. Every mentor is background-checked and STEM-certified. Anything children share with each other on our platform is moderated by mentors, and we have a designated safeguarding lead.
- Will my child have their own mentor?
- Yes. A STEM-certified mentor follows what your child is building and answers them by text and video message, so it is the same person week to week rather than whoever happens to be free.
- How does my child talk to their mentor?
- By text and video message, in their own time. There is no session to attend and no camera to turn on, which for a lot of children is the part that makes it workable.
- Can we meet a mentor before we join?
- Creating an account is free and takes no card details, so you can look at the platform and the projects first. Your child meets their mentor when they start.
- What does a mentor actually do?
- They look at what your child has built and reply to it. The useful part is rarely showing a child the answer: it is asking the question that gets them to find it, then leaving them to it. Mentors write a note on every child.
- Are mentors trained in supporting neurodivergent children?
- Yes. Mentors are trained to adapt to how each child learns rather than expecting the child to adapt, and more than a third of our members are autistic or have ADHD based on what parents tell us when they join. In 2025 we received the Autism Inclusion Award from the National Autistic Society, the UK's leading autism charity.
- What if the mentor is not the right fit for my child?
- Tell us and we will assign a different one. It is not a failure if the first is not right.