Widening Participation from the Ground Up: Early Intervention in Primary Education to Improve Healthcare Opportunities

Access to medical careers has historically been limited for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. While widening participation (WP) efforts have primarily focused on secondary education, early career aspirations often develop between the ages of 9 and 11, making primary school interventions crucial. However, the impact of early healthcare exposure on children from WP backgrounds remains underexplored. To address this gap, we implemented a healthcare career intervention for Key Stage 2 (KS2) children from deprived communities, identified using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and POLAR4. The intervention consisted of three interactive sessions covering heart anatomy and function, CPR training, and healthcare role-play scenarios. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were used to assess changes in knowledge, skills, and career aspirations. Ethnicity was classified using standardised demographic categories. Our findings demonstrated significant improvements in children's knowledge of heart function (p