primary Schools
Healthy Futures
Connecting Classrooms, Careers and Communities
Healthy Futures is an innovative Primary school's programme from Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System (ICS) that brings health education and career inspiration into the classroom.
Designed for Year 3 and Year 4 pupils, the programme helps children explore how health and social care support our communities, while sparking early interest in future careers and supporting learning in science and health.
What is Healthy Futures?
Healthy Futures is a collaboration between Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), local NHS and social care professionals and primary schools. The programme was piloted in Coventry and Warwickshire Primary Schools working with pupils in areas of higher deprivation where many children are eligible for pupil premium.
The sessions link curriculum-based science learning with real-life healthcare scenarios, helping pupils understand their bodies, wellbeing and the people who work in health and care.
What does the programme involve?
Schools receive a series of three themed, interactive sessions designed to be engaging, inclusive and age appropriate. Sessions are aligned to seven locally “at-risk” health and care professions, delivered by local healthcare professionals including Nurses, Midwives, Physiotherapists, Diagnostic Radiographers and other healthcare roles, and framed around the NHS CORE20PLUS5 approach to reducing health inequalities.
Children learn through storytelling, hands-on activities such as organ-matching games, using real equipment including stethoscopes to check pulse and heart rate, and conversations about health, wellbeing and future aspirations.
The impact so far
The sessions, delivered in July and December 2025, showed strong engagement and enthusiasm from pupils and staff.
“The session sparked genuine enthusiasm among the pupils, with many expressing a newfound interest in healthcare careers.”
Muslima, Teacher
Pupil reflections included:
“I enjoyed using a real stethoscope to listen to my partner’s heartbeat.” – Rankin
“Meeting the nurse inspired me to become a nurse when I grow up.” – Andra
Children also receive an “Ask me about…” sticker and take-home flyer to encourage conversations with parents and carers. This helps to extend learning beyond the classroom and into the wider community, supporting social value and family engagement.
Why take part?
By joining Healthy Futures, schools can support science and health education in an engaging and practical way, help pupils understand health inequalities and wellbeing, raise aspirations by introducing children to real health and care role models, and strengthen links between schools, families and local health services.
Get involved
If your school is interested in taking part in Healthy Futures, we would love to hear from you.
Register your interest using this form. For further information, please contact cwicb.cwicspeopleservices@nhs.net.
Warwick Medical School Teddy Bear Hospital
The Teddy Bear Hospital is a Warwick Medical School run society focusing on learning about healthcare and healthy living in a fun and interactive way with children aged 4-11 years. They regularly attend at Rainbows, Brownies, schools groups and extracurricular clubs, where the children bring their teddies and take part in various stations to familiarise themselves with medical situations. If you know a group of children within the Coventry and Warwickshire area that you think would enjoy a visit from the Teddy Bear Hospital Team, please get in touch!
Take a look at our Instagram, @wmsteddybearhospital for more information or to arrange a session, send us an email on: Teddybearhospital@warwick.ac.uk.
