Step into the NHS

Client: NHS England

We’re on a mission to change children’s attitudes toward NHS careers, showing them that there are hundreds of non-gendered career paths (not all of which require a degree)—it’s not all “male doctors and female nurses”! This mission drives the Step into the NHS (SITNHS) educational programme, which encourages KS2/3 children to think about the breadth of opportunities open to them in the world of NHS work, with jobs to suit everyone—no matter their gender, background, interests or skills.

SITNHS helps protect NHS England’s future workforce talent pool by raising awareness about both non-clinical and clinical careers at the NHS, spanning over 350 roles that children may not know about: from drama therapists and radiographers to carpenters, technicians and more. The programme is rooted in education but made interactive through imagination—teachers use a curated lesson plan to build students’ careers awareness. Students then transform this awareness into a creative idea as part of a national competition, with the winners celebrated in a virtual award event. In 2024, Hopscotch propelled SITNHS to the next level, adding a new element to the campaign’s promotional toolkit: live event days. Here, children interacted directly with NHS career ambassadors to make learning more tangible and relatable. Thanks to our targeted email campaign, supported by social marketing and events, we reached an incredible 43,810 of England’s KS2/3 students. The best bit? The campaign’s impact—teachers said SITNHS not only helped their students understand the range of NHS careers but also raised their future-career aspirations.