Aspirations
Research shows that people from disadvantaged communities are under-represented in medical, health, and social care careers due to barriers such as limited opportunities, lack of role models, and minimal family or community encouragement. These challenges often start early in life, leading to workforce gaps and inequalities in health outcomes.
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Our Aspirations Project aims to change this by connecting children and families with professionals, raising aspirations, and offering mentorship to open doors into these fields. By fostering early engagement and support, we hope to address recruitment challenges, improve services, and create opportunities in underserved areas. We work closely with local schools to deliver this project to KS2 children.
Step 1. Introduction
An assembly introduces the project’s goals to students and parents, giving them a preview and helping them decide if they want to apply to take part. Allowing children to choose to participate enhances engagement, behaviour, and outcomes.
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The first session introduces the children to the program and includes a pre-course assessment, along with a "Who Am I?" activity. This helps establish a baseline for evaluating progress. During this session, 8 key skills are introduced, which are used throughout the project to demonstrate how skills learnt and practiced in school can be applied to the workplace later in life.



​Step 2. Sessions with Professionals
Over four sessions, professionals share insights into their careers, covering:
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Career paths and qualifications
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Essential skills like resilience and communication
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A typical workday and the importance of maths and English
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The 8 key skills
Each professional also leads a hands-on activity to showcase their daily work.
Past participants include:
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Senior Nurse (Critical Care, NHS)
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Social Worker (Adult Social Care)
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Healthcare Professionals (School Health Service)
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Doctors
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Midwife
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Nurse Practitioner (GP Surgery)
Step 3. Reflection
In the final session, children revisit their pre-course assessment and reflect on their future selves. The "My Future Cloud" activity encourages children to imagine their adult lives, considering aspects like their jobs, where they live, and whether they have a family or pets.



​Step 4. Final Assembly
Parents and other members of the school community are invited to the final assembly, where the children share their aspirations and reflect on what they’ve learned about careers in health and social care.
Contact us about Aspirations
If you're interested in bringing the Aspirations project to your school, please contact us to see how we can help. If you're a parent or carer please speak to your school to discuss.