Inquiry in Action: Embracing Real-World Careers

We have been embracing real-world careers at the Prep, taking advantage of our talented parents and trips out and about.

Year 2 have been studying health and wellbeing in their inquiry lessons, which presented an opportunity to learn about the emergency services, including air ambulances.

Air ambulances have been around longer than many people realise, stretching back to the early days of aviation. As aeroplanes became more reliable in the early 20th century, medical professionals began to see their potential for reaching patients faster than ground transport allowed. During World War I, injured soldiers were occasionally evacuated by aircraft, proving that speed could make a real difference in survival. In the following decades, the idea took hold in civilian life, especially in remote regions. A standout example is Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service, founded in the late 1920s, which used small aircraft to bring medical care to isolated communities and helped show just how practical airborne medicine could be.

In the UK, the development of air ambulance services has been relatively recent but highly impactful. Although military helicopters had long been used for medical evacuation, the first dedicated civilian air ambulance service did not launch until 1987, when Cornwall Air Ambulance took to the skies. Early UK air ambulances were often funded by charities rather than the National Health Service, a model that still largely exists today, and these teams rely on donations. Over time, closer integration with the NHS and major advances in pre-hospital care transformed these services into flying critical care units. Today, the UK’s air ambulances are a vital part of the emergency response system, delivering highly skilled medical teams to some of the most serious incidents and bringing lifesaving care directly to patients when every minute counts.

Our Year 2 pupils have been visiting the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance base at North Weald airfield, where they received fantastic guidance from the staff there. More photos will be available next week.

We are very grateful to the Year 2 parents who have been in to talk to the children about their professions. Dr and Dr Joseph (Kimaya’s mum and dad) who are both surgeons, Mr Kassam (Callum’s dad) and Mr and Mrs Sabharwal (Mani’s parents) are all dentists, Ms Norrington (Theo’s mum) is a pilates instructor, Ms Ellen (Lui’s mum) is a Sports Lawyer and Football Agent, Mrs Rupra (Simran’s mum) is an Optometrist, all gave their time to explain their work and how they help people stay healthy.

In Foundation, the children have been learning all about people who help us as part of their inquiry. This week, Wrens and Buntings were visited by Dr Battu (Saachi’s Dad), a dentist. He talked to the children about how dentists help us all to keep our teeth healthy and what we need to do to make sure we look after our teeth, including brushing them for 2 minutes in the morning and evening. Best get the egg timers out. Sparrows are having their dentist visit next week.

Foundation children were also visited by PC Ryan and PC Sparrow, who came to talk to the children about what the police do to help us. The children were so excited to see their equipment, like their handcuffs, helmets and radios.

Though arguably one of the most exciting parts of their visit was seeing their police car, complete with flashing lights.

Next week, Councillor Louise McKinlay will be spending time with our Year 6 pupils who have been learning about government systems in their inquiry lessons, and they have been gearing up to ask big questions.

Connecting the classroom to the world outside of the School gates is essential in preparing the children for being active citizens and community players.

Have a lovely weekend,

Alice Goodfellow

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