MadLab has been selected as one of three pilots to participate in Salford Council’s Digital Participation in Schools pilot programme – part of a Greater Manchester-wide programme to promote digital inclusion, supported by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology.

Delivering to schools across Salford, MadLab’s pilot offering encompasses skills workshops in coding, web development, software engineering, and games design, as well as sessions exploring pathways into a digital and creative career.

The programme incorporates key elements from MadLab’s TESTS Salford programme: a series of creative digital challenges and mini-hackathon activities, designed to build students’ confidence and skills in areas like problem-solving, collaboration, and digital making. These challenges are designed to be fun, accessible, and aligned with the Key Stages 3 and 4 digital curriculum – helping schools support digital inclusion in a practical and engaging way.

All curriculum and activity development has been carried out in-house, led by MadLab’s PGCE-trained learning team. Sessions are hands-on, built-around industry-standard digital tooling, and designed to engage learners of all abilities – whether they’re discovering coding for the first time or building on existing skills towards a future tech career.

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