This page is a short beginner’s guide for South African teachers starting with Coding and Robotics under the Final 2025 CAPS.
The older version of this page taught the 2021 draft model of five study areas (Pattern Recognition; Algorithms and Coding; Robotics Skills; Internet and e-communicating; Application Skills). That architecture is superseded. The Department of Basic Education now publishes Final phase PDFs organised around three content areas: Coding, Robotics and Digital Concepts.
Use this guide to find the official PDFs, understand the three areas at a high level, and open the right CAPS123 hubs. CAPS123 is not an official DBE site. Verify every claim against the Final PDFs below.
Official Final CAPS (start here)
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). Do not invent week maps or outcomes beyond what those PDFs name.
What Coding and Robotics is
Coding and Robotics is its own listed subject for Grades R to 9. It helps learners practise logical thinking, problem-solving and phase-appropriate digital awareness. It supports Languages and Mathematics; it does not replace them.
It is not Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and not a generic “ICT CAPS”. Keep the Final PDF for your phase open when you plan. This guide only orients you.
For a fuller move from draft/pilot language to the Final CAPS, use the Coding and Robotics CAPS Orientation.
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 |
Pattern work sits under Coding in the final CAPS. Related digital ideas sit under Digital Concepts. Do not keep draft headings such as Application Skills or Internet and e-Communication as your planning strands.
Draft vs final (quick cheat sheet)
| Draft / pilot language (do not plan from this) | Final CAPS language (prefer) |
|---|---|
| Five FP study areas / knowledge strands | Three content areas: Coding, Robotics, Digital Concepts |
| Four IP / SP strands including Application Skills and Internet and e-Communication | Same three areas; digital skills sit under Digital Concepts |
| Pattern Recognition as its own strand | Pattern work inside Coding |
| “PROPOSED AMENDMENTS”, Draft CAPS, March 2021 | Hub filenames Final 2025 / Fin Oct 2025 |
If an older page or file still lists five or four strands, treat it as historic / superseded and re-check against the Final phase PDF.
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.
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.
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.
For the Foundation Phase authority hub, see Foundation Phase Coding and Robotics.
Intermediate and Senior Phase in brief
IP and SP use the same three content areas. Download the IP Final PDF or SP Final PDF and plan from those Section 2 and Section 3 tables. Do not carry forward draft four-strand headings as if they were still official.
How to use this guide in one sitting
Teachers often open a long Coding and Robotics page and leave without a next step. Use this sequence instead:
- 1. Bookmark the DBE CAPS hub and download your phase Final PDF from the table above.
- 2. Skim Section 2 until you can name the three content areas without looking.
- 3. Open Section 3 for your grade and note how the Final PDF clarifies content by term (do not invent your own week map from memory).
- 4. Open the Orientation if you still see five or four strand language in old notes.
- 5. For Foundation Phase classes, open the FP hub and prefer unplugged activities first.
That is enough for a first planning session. Deeper competency tables live only in the Final PDF, not on this page.
Common beginner mistakes to avoid
- Planning from 2021 draft filenames or site copies labelled PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.
- Treating Pattern Recognition, Application Skills or Internet and e-Communication as separate current strands.
- Assuming every Foundation Phase class needs devices before teaching can start.
- Promising a 2025 FP classroom start when full FP rollout was postponed to 2026.
- Calling older CAPS123 lesson packs “the final CAPS” without checking Section 3 of the Final PDF.
- Confusing Coding and Robotics with CAT or a generic ICT CAPS.
If a colleague still uses pilot workshop language, share the three-area table and the Final PDF link rather than rewriting their whole file overnight. Re-map topics when you next revise the timetable.
Lesson packs on CAPS123
CAPS123 hosts historic lesson-plan packs for Foundation Phase Coding and Robotics. Many filenames still use draft/pilot strand names. They are not the Final 2025 CAPS.
- Coding and Robotics lesson plans Grades 1-3 (2023 packs; labelled historic pilot / draft-aligned; Final PDF first)
Always open the Final phase PDF before you adapt any download for your class.
Related CAPS123 pages
- Coding and Robotics CAPS Orientation
- Foundation Phase Coding and Robotics
- Coding and Robotics lesson plans Grades 1-3
- Introducing the Final Coding and Robotics Curriculum (Foundation Phase) (still notes a 2025 start in places; plan from 2026 and the Final FP PDF)
- What is CAPS?
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 guides 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.