Who can join NHS Cadets?

We really want to make sure that NHS Cadets is representative of the LGBTQI+ community, removing any barriers to a future in healthcare. The LGBTQI+ community includes a diverse range of identities, and here is Stonewall's Glossary to provide more information about each of them.  

Helpful facts :

• The abbreviation LGBTQI+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and Intersex. The plus includes a range of other identities within the community.
• Questioning can also be included under "Q". This is the process of exploring your sexual attraction and/or gender identity.
• The Ace and Aro spectrum includes people who have a lack of sexual or romantic attraction, as well as those who identify with different points of this scale. This spectrum includes individuals who identify as Asexual, Aromantic or Demisexual.

Gender identity and sexual attraction can overlap to make you who you are, but they are also different terms which should not be confused with each other. For this reason, we do not ask you about each in the same question of the application. 

For more information please view these links:

• Gender Identity
• Sexual Attraction and Sexuality
• Helpful articles and support

How to tell us when you apply:

“What is your gender?”

You can select ‘Male’ ‘Female’, ‘Non-binary’, ‘Prefer to self-describe’ or ‘Prefer not to say’.

We don’t ask you directly about sexual or romantic attraction. If this is part of the reason you identify as being part of the LGBTQI+ community, please let us know in the text box for this question:

“Is there anything else that you think would make you suitable for NHS Cadets?”

NHS Cadets aims to provide a range of valuable learning and volunteering opportunities. We welcome your application if you are not in education, training or employment (NEET), or at risk of being in this situation.

To support you with your next steps, we'll introduce you to a range of options in healthcare, and help develop your understanding of what a future in health could look like.

If you need support with issues relating to work or study, The Mix have a great section full of tools and guidance.

What counts as at risk of being NEET?

This might include: 

• Being excluded from school or college
• Attending a pupil referral unit (PRU)
• You received fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades 4-9 (or low KS4 grades)
• You are predicted to receive fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades 4-9 (or low KS4 grades)

What counts as NEET?

To count as NEET, all of these will apply to you:

• You are not in education. This includes being enrolled onto a course, waiting for term to start, or doing an apprenticeship. 
• You are not in training. This includes job-based training, a government training programme, or any other type of training in the past 4 weeks.
• You are not in employment. This includes paid work and part-time work. 

More information about what counts as NEET is available from the Office for National Statistics.

How to tell us when you apply:

There are two questions which help us see if the programme is a good fit for you:

About your education: which of the following applies to you?

There are a number of options in the dropdown menu where you can let us know about your employment, training and education status. Pick the one which fits you best.

I received poor grades or I expect to receive poor grades.

You can choose from "Yes", "No" or "Prefer not to say".

If you would prefer to let us know about your situation in your own words, please use the following section:

NHS Cadets is different to academic education. It is flexible and centres around new experiences and practical skills. You are encouraged to set your own goals, and create a portfolio to show to future employers or course providers.

We welcome your application if you are struggling with progress at school/college, and one or more of the points below sounds relevant to your situation:

• Being excluded from school or college
• Attending a pupil referral unit (PRU)
• You received fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades 4-9 (or low KS4 grades)
• You are predicted to receive fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades 4-9 (or low KS4 grades)

If you feel you need further support about study and exams, The Mix's website has some great guidance and tools for you.

How to tell us when you apply:

There are two questions which help us see if the programme is a good fit for you:

About your education: which of the following applies to you?

This is where you can tell us if you are attending a pupil referral unit (PRU), either full-time or part-time.

I received poor grades or I expect to receive poor grades.

You can choose from "Yes", "No" or "Prefer not to say".

If you would prefer to let us know about your situation in your own words, please use the following section:

You're a young carer if you are under 18 and need to look after a parent, family member, or friend. It may be that you need to provide help to someone who is ill, disabled, has a mental health condition, or who misuses drugs or alcohol. 

There are lots of young carers in England, and it is estimated that the number has been rising during the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that being a young carer can be challenging for lots of reasons, and this is why we want to support you with our flexible programme at NHS Cadets.

Everyone's personal situation is different, but here are some examples of what you might do as a young carer, taken from the Carers Trust website: 

• Practical tasks, like cooking, housework and shopping
• Physical care, such as helping someone out of bed
• Emotional support, including talking to someone who is distressed
• Personal care, such as helping someone dress
• Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions
• Helping to give medicine
• Helping someone communicate
• Looking after brothers and sisters

If you are a young carer, or think you count as one, here are some helpful websites you might like to visit:

• From the NHS: Being a young carer page, and Help for young carers page. These pages let you know all about your rights, and the help available to provide support.
• Carers Trust: Find carer support services near you with a postcode search.
• Action for Children: Support for young carers.

How to tell us when you apply:

"About your personal circumstances:

Are you in care, or have you recently left the care system? Maybe you are thinking about your Pathway Plan for the future, or perhaps you would like to make connections with other people who share similar aspirations?

Our programme welcomes all future NHS Cadets who identify with this section, and we would love to hear from you. We've included some examples below to help explain what we mean by care, but we understand that every situation is different.

• Foster care: foster placements can be all different lengths of time, and it might be that you have one foster carer, or be part of a foster family. 
• Kinship care: this is when you live with someone you already know, like a family member or friend of the family. It is sometimes known as "Friends and Family Care". 
• Residential care or children's homes: this is when you live with other young people in a home which might have residential carers. These can be run by charities, companies or local authorities. 
• Care leavers: you might have chosen to leave the care system at 16 or 17 for a range of reasons, and we welcome your application if you feel this applies to you.

The Become Charity website can provide you with helpful information about the care system, and please contact us if you aren't sure.

How to tell us when you apply:

"Have social services ever placed you with another carer? For example, this could mean living with a foster family or in a children's home for a period of time"

You can select "Yes", "No" or "Prefer not to say". 

If you prefer to explain your situation in your own words, please let us know in your response to this question:

Is there anything else that you think would make you suitable for NHS Cadets?

We ask you this question because it tells us you are more likely to have faced barriers getting where you want to be. Free school meals are designed to support families who have lower incomes, a key group we would like to support with NHS Cadets.

This is sometimes referred to as 'socio-economic status', which can be used to measure access to life opportunities, financial support, and educational achievement. We also use postcodes to make sure we are operating in communities which will benefit most from our programme.

How to tell us when you apply:

“Do you currently receive free school meals?”

You can select 'Yes', 'No' or 'Prefer not to say'. This information will help your application if it is your main reason for applying.

More information about free school meals is available here from the Government’s website.

Mental health affects how we think, feel and act. As Mind's website explains, your mental health is on a spectrum, and can range from good to poor.

Good mental health can help you to think positively, feel confident and act calmly. If you have poor mental health, you might find that the way you're thinking, feeling or acting becomes difficult to cope with. You can experience poor mental health but not be diagnosed with a mental health condition. 

• You might not enjoy things you used to like doing.
• You might feel sad or angry for a longer time than usual.
• You might feel like you can’t control how you feel or behave.
• You might be suffering from fatigue or have difficulty sleeping.

Good and poor mental health are a big focus of our programme on NHS Cadets, and we offer modules on both Foundation and Advanced Pathways to support and inform you.

Helpful information:

• Information on different types of mental health problems, and examples of poor mental health.
• Understanding your feelings
• Mind - how to get help and support
• Direct support from The Mix, including counselling services, crisis messenger and group chat.

How to tell us when you apply:

"Do you have mental health concerns?" 

You can select "Yes", "No" or "Prefer not to say". If this is your main reason for applying, remember that it will help your application.

If you prefer to explain your situation in your own words, please let us know in your response to this question:

"Is there anything else that you think would make you suitable for NHS Cadets?"

Neurodiversity relates to the different ways a person's brain processes information. It is an umbrella term to describe these variations, and it's estimated that as many as 1 in 7 people in the UK have a neurodifference. If you are neurodivergent you process information and learning in a different way. 

We really like the word 'neurodivergent' on the NHS Cadets Programme, and we even created a session all about it for our Cadets. Neurodiversity is still quite a new term, so here are examples of conditions which can be included in this section:

• Autistic Spectrum Condition, or Autism: related terms can include 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' or 'Asperger syndrome', a specific diagnosis which used to be given for one part of the spectrum. 
• ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Dyslexia
• Tourette's syndrome
• Tics
• Developmental Co-ordination Disorder, or DCD: 'Dyspraxia' is often referred to as a type of DCD.
• Dyscalculia

This is not a full list of every condition, so follow this link to read about other types of neurodiversity. 

Special Educational Needs, or SEN, are conditions which affect your ability to learn. This term can include learning difficulties, and some of the conditions listed above, such as Dyslexia and ADHD. More information about learning difficulties is available from Mencap.

If you consider yourself to have a learning disability, please scroll down to our next section focusing on disability. Click to expand and find out more.

How to tell us when you apply:

We welcome all applicants to describe their situation using the language they prefer. 

• You may wish to tell us in your own words that you are neurodivergent.
• You may want to let us know that you have a Special Educational Need.
• You might prefer to say you have a learning difference.

If you prefer to self-describe, please let us know in your response to this question:

"Is there anything else that you think would make you suitable for NHS Cadets?"

"Do you have learning difficulties?" 

You can select "Yes", "No" or "Prefer not to say". 

According to the World Health Organization, over 1 billion people live with some form of disability. The NHS Cadets Programme aims to reflect the communites we work in, and we welcome applicants who consider themselves to have a disability or impairment.

A disability can be described as a continuing condition that restricts everyday activities. It is an umbrella term which can include physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or mental health problems. 

If you have an 'impairment' it means you feel your physical or mental abilities are reduced in some way compared to others. An impairment doesn’t have to be a diagnosed medical condition. For further information on disabilities and impairments please visit this page from Citizens Advice.

Helpful information:

• Disability and mental health problems
• Physical and mobility disabilities
• Learning disabilities
• Sensory impairment

Your rights are protected under the 2010 Equality Act, which describes disability as "a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities."

How to tell us when you apply:

Please tell us about your situation in your own words, in response to the question below. 

"Is there anything else that you think would make you suitable for NHS Cadets?"

• You can tell us about one or more conditions which affect you. You can also tell us about a specific condition which affects you, for example: "I have Ankylosing Spondylitis."
• If you prefer, you could make a simple statement at this stage, for example: "I have a learning disability". 
• Perhaps you are waiting for a diagnosis for a condition which is affecting you, and you can tell us here.
• You can also let us know how we can best support you. 

The NHS Cadets Programme welcomes applications from asylum seekers and refugees. We want to remove barriers you might face to a future in healthcare.

Let us know if you identify with either of the terms below:

• Seeking asylum is a human right. An asylum seeker is someone who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution in another country. A person who seeks asylum in a new country may have to wait to receive a decision on whether they receive refugee status.
• Refugees have a right to international protection, and their status is legally recognised. They will have also left their country to seek protection from persecution in another country.

For support with seeking asylum and refugee status, please visit this page from the Red Cross. They offer support in a number of different languages.

How to tell us when you apply:

"Are you, or have you ever been, a refugee or an unaccompanied asylum seeker child?" 

You can select "Yes", "No" or "Prefer not to say". If this is your main reason for applying, remember that it will help your application.

If you prefer to explain your situation in your own words, please let us know in your response to this question:

"Is there anything else that you think would make you suitable for NHS Cadets?"