The creation of the National Health Service
I can explain how the Second World War led to the creation of the NHS and the impact this had on the people of Britain.
The creation of the National Health Service
I can explain how the Second World War led to the creation of the NHS and the impact this had on the people of Britain.
Link copied to clipboard
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Before WWII, healthcare was not run by the government and varied greatly from place to place.
- Many people, especially women, were unable to afford healthcare and childhood illness was a big problem.
- Although the government ran schemes for workers to access free healthcare, this was mainly for men.
- During the war, the government took control of hospitals and this showed how much better things could be.
- In 1948, the National Health Service was set up offering free healthcare to everyone, improving the nation's health.
Keywords
Healthcare - healthcare refers to the system of medical services provided to individuals
Welfare state - a welfare state is when a government provides basic services for the people in the country to help protect their well-being
Common misconception
Students may think that National Insurance before WWII allowed men to receive healthcare without paying for it.
They had to pay with some of their wages to be entitled to the benefits of healthcare.
To help you plan your year 6 history lesson on: The creation of the National Health Service, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 6 history lesson on: The creation of the National Health Service, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Significant turning points: in what ways did Britain change after WWII? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...