What is NHS Cadets?

NHS Cadets is a new scheme created by St John Ambulance in partnership with the NHS, providing opportunities to explore skills, knowledge and volunteering roles within healthcare. It is aimed at young people aged 14 to 18 who are from communities currently under-represented within the NHS and St John Ambulance.

The programme offers young people health awareness sessions, courses to develop their leadership and communication skills and an insight or experience in volunteering within the NHS.

It is a free programme, consisting of weekly, 2-hour sessions for 11 months. Cadets will be supported throughout their volunteering journey by our NHS Cadets Team.

Who can get involved?

The initiative is seeking young people who might not have previously considered volunteering in healthcare. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Young people living with learning difficulties and / or disabilities (we will need to discuss if we have the support network to help you participate)  
• Young people in the care system, or recent care leavers  
• Refugees or Asylum Seekers  
• Young Carers  
• Homeless young people  
• Those not in education, employment or training, or those with school results lower than you hoped/need/expected
• Those living with mental health concerns (same principle as anyone with a learning difficulty or disability)  
• Those who identify as being part of the LGBTQI+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex+)  
• Those coming from low-income families /young people in receipt of free school meals  
• Young people from ethnic minority communities

In Shrewsbury there are two different projects:

NHS Cadets Foundation Programme (14-16), Shrewsbury (Tuesday)
NHS Cadets Advanced Programme (16-18), Shrewsbury (Thursday)

Once on the NHS Cadets website, select ‘search positions’ and then select on 'see all programmes and positions'. This will take you to a list of all the available programmes. Click on the one that is nearest to you then click the 'filter' button - the available programmes in that area will appear. You can then select the one that you want to apply for by clicking 'view details', it will then take you to the relevant form.