Coding and Robotics CAPS Orientation

This page is the Coding and Robotics orientation for teachers and subject advisors who are moving from draft / pilot language to the Final 2025 CAPS.

The older version of this page pasted a long pilot Participants Manual (five Foundation Phase strands, four Intermediate and Senior Phase strands, Application Skills, Internet and e-Communications, office apps). That model matches the 2021 draft / pilot, not the final CAPS on the Department of Basic Education hub.

Use this shorter orientation to find the official Final PDFs, see the draft vs final cheat sheet, and open the right CAPS123 hubs. CAPS123 is not an official DBE site. Verify every claim against the Final PDFs below.

Official Final CAPS (use these first)

CAPS hub: Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS)

Phase	Hub list	Final PDF
Foundation (R-3)	CAPS Foundation	FP Coding and Robotics CAPS Final 2025.pdf
Intermediate (4-6)	CAPS Intermediate	IP Coding and Robotics CAPS Fin Oct 2025.pdf
Senior (7-9)	CAPS Senior	SP Coding and Robotics CAPS 2025.pdf

Download the phase PDF you teach. Plan from Section 2 (content areas) and Section 3 (grade and term clarification) in that Final document. Do not invent week maps or competency codes beyond what those PDFs name.

What orientation means now

Orientation here means helping you switch vocabulary and sources:

1. Stop teaching from the five / four knowledge strands of the draft and pilot packs.
2. Start from the Final CAPS three content areas across Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Phase.
3. Prefer the DBE hub Final PDFs above over site-hosted 2021 draft mirrors or Nov 2022 pilot manuals.
4. For Foundation Phase, plan for unplugged-first teaching and the 2026 classroom rollout (full FP implementation was postponed from 2025).

Coding and Robotics is its own listed subject for Grades R to 9 (see National Policy amendments, Gazette GN 4946 / 50767, 7 June 2024). It is not Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and not a generic “ICT CAPS”.

If your school or district still uses pilot workshop notes, older ATPs embedded in the 2021 draft PDF, or Johannesburg Central (JJV) style packs, treat those as historic training materials. Re-check every topic against the Final phase PDF before you timetable or assess.

Draft vs final cheat sheet

Draft / pilot language (do not plan from this)	Final CAPS language (prefer)
Five FP knowledge strands / study areas	Three content areas: Coding, Robotics, Digital Concepts
Four IP / SP strands including Application Skills and Internet and e-Communications	Same three areas across phases; digital skills sit under Digital Concepts
Pattern Recognition as its own strand	Pattern work sits inside Coding, not as a fifth strand
“PROPOSED AMENDMENTS”, “Draft CAPS”, March 2021	Hub filenames Final 2025 / Fin Oct 2025
Heavy Word / Excel / HTML / office-suite blocks as FP strand content	FP Final is unplugged-first; devices are optional enrichment

Draft FP strand names you may still see on older pages and filenames: Pattern Recognition; Algorithms and Coding; Robotics Skills; Internet and e-Communication; Application Skills. IP / SP drafts folded Pattern Recognition into Coding and kept four strands. That architecture is superseded.

When an older lesson file is titled “Application skills” or “Internet and e-communication”, map it carefully under Digital Concepts only if the Final PDF supports that idea for your grade. Do not keep those draft names as your planning headings.

The three final content areas

Across Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Phase finals, Section 2 organises the subject around:

Content area	High-level focus
Coding	Algorithms and programming practices, pattern work as part of coding, debugging and related computational thinking
Robotics	What a robot is, components, design and construction, mimicking operations and following instructions
Digital Concepts	Digital citizenship, digital awareness, computing devices and digital skills in a phase-appropriate way

Keep the Final PDF open when you plan. This page only orients you. It does not replace Section 3 grade and term tables.

Subject advisors can use the three-area table as a shared language in workshops: ask teachers which Final PDF they opened, which content area a lesson serves, and whether Foundation Phase work is still unplugged-first. That is enough to stop draft-strand drift without inventing new codes.

Foundation Phase: unplugged-first and 2026

The Final FP CAPS is designed so Grades R to 3 can start without a computer lab. Use body movement, cards, games, drawings and spoken instructions for sequencing, patterns, following steps and simple robot ideas. Add devices only where they enrich learning and where your school can support them.

This matches many South African Foundation Phase classrooms. Schools that already have tablets or floor robots can use them as enrichment. Schools that do not can still teach from the Final CAPS.

Full Foundation Phase classroom rollout was postponed to 2026. Do not treat 2025 as the current implementation year for every school. Check your province or district for 2026 LTSM and timetable guidance.

For a short plain-English walk-through of the final three areas (still note its outdated 2025 start in places), see Introducing the Final Coding and Robotics Curriculum for South African Foundation Phase Learners.

Practical FP start:

1. Open the Final FP CAPS PDF.
2. Read Section 2 (three content areas) and Section 3 (your grade).
3. Plan unplugged activities first.
4. Only then decide whether any device-based enrichment is realistic for your class.

Intermediate and Senior Phase

IP and SP use the same three content areas. Download the IP Final PDF or SP Final PDF for your phase and plan from those Section 2 and Section 3 tables.

Do not carry forward draft IP / SP strand headings (Application Skills; Internet and e-Communications; separate Pattern Recognition) as if they were still official. Where older CAPS123 Senior hub wording still lists four strands, prefer the Final SP PDF until that hub is refreshed.

Historic pilot orientation manual

The Nov 2022 Coding and Robotics Orientation Participants Manual (Grades R to 9) linked from the old version of this page is historic pilot orientation. It teaches the draft five / four strand model, including long Application Skills and Internet and e-Communications sections. Keep it only if you need a record of pilot training language. Do not use it as the primary CTA or as current CAPS policy.

If the file is still on the site (/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/...Participants-Manual...), treat it as superseded. Prefer the Final phase PDFs in the table above.

Related CAPS123 pages

Foundation Phase Coding and Robotics (FP hub; Final PDF first)
Coding and Robotics lesson plans Grades 1-3 (2023 packs labelled historic pilot / draft-aligned)
Coding and Robotics lesson plans for Grade R (district / pilot packs; historic caution)
Introducing the Final Coding and Robotics Curriculum (Foundation Phase)
What is CAPS?
Senior Phase Coding and Robotics (still draft-era on live site in places; prefer the Final SP PDF above until that hub is refreshed)

There is no standalone Coding and Robotics ATP listed on the national 2023 ATPs hub at the time of this refresh. Plan from Final CAPS Section 3 plus provincial or district guidance.

Disclaimer

CAPS123 shares teacher-facing orientation and historic files for convenience. It is not the Department of Basic Education and it does not publish official CAPS policy. Always verify planning against the Final FP, IP and SP Coding and Robotics CAPS PDFs on the DBE CAPS hub, and against current provincial or district guidance for the 2026 Foundation Phase rollout.