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Year 10
Edexcel

The welfare state and the NHS

I can evaluate the impact of the welfare state on public health in modern Britain.

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New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

The welfare state and the NHS

I can evaluate the impact of the welfare state on public health in modern Britain.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Britain created a welfare state during the 1940s.
  2. The Beveridge Report and public support for the war effort during WWII encouraged the creation of the welfare state.
  3. The NHS and new house building were key features of the welfare state.
  4. The NHS provides free treatments for patients.
  5. Funding difficulties have affected access to and the quality of some support provided by the welfare state.

Keywords

  • Welfare state - a system in which the government accepts responsibility for protecting people's quality of life

  • Public health - actions and systems intended to prevent disease and maintain good health within communities

  • Unsanitary - dirty or unhealthy and therefore likely to cause disease

  • Prescription - the medicine someone needs to treat a health condition

Common misconception

The NHS was the only feature of Britain's welfare state which supported public health.

The NHS was very important but slum clearance and new house building were also important features of the welfare state which benefitted public health.


To help you plan your year 10 history lesson on: The welfare state and the NHS, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

During the third learning cycle, get pupils to discuss in pairs why it would be a problem if people skip medication or have to wait a long-time to receive their treatments. You may encourage them to think not only about the impact on patients themselves but also the longer-term impact on the NHS.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does laissez-faire mean?

Correct answer: the belief that governments should not interfere in people’s daily lives
the belief that governments should act to protect people's health and wellbeing
the belief that there should not be any government

Q2.
Actions and systems intended to prevent disease and maintain good health within communities are referred to as part of what?

Correct Answer: public health

Q3.
Which Liberal reform set up free medical inspections for school children?

1906 School Meals Act
Correct answer: 1907 Education Act
1908 Old Age Pensions Act
1909 Housing and Town Planning Act
1911 National Insurance Act

Q4.
Which Liberal reform banned the construction of back-to-backs?

1906 School Meals Act
1908 Old Age Pensions Act
Correct answer: 1909 Housing and Town Planning Act
1911 National Insurance Act

Q5.
By 1936, how many people living in slums were being rehoused to newly built homes each year?

none
5000
10 000
Correct answer: 25 000

Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.

1 - first Public Health Act passed
2 - smallpox vaccines made compulsory
3 - Liberals introduceD free school meals for poor children
4 - National Insurance introduced
5 - Ministry of Health set up

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A state is a system in which the government accepts responsibility for protecting people's quality of life.

Correct Answer: welfare

Q2.
In which year was the NHS founded?

Correct Answer: 1948

Q3.
How many new houses were built each year in the UK by 1953?

300
3000
30 000
Correct answer: 300 000

Q4.
Why did some people who were relocated from slums to new housing develop breathing issues?

Correct answer: New housing was often built cheaply so suffered from mould.
People who were relocated were not allowed to receive free NHS treatment.
New houses were still usually overcrowded allowing diseases to spread.

Q5.
In 1951, the NHS introduced fees in which of the following areas?

ambulance services
doctor appointments
Correct answer: prescriptions
Correct answer: optician services
surgeries

Q6.
Which statement is correct?

The Beveridge Report only recommended that the government fight disease.
The Beveridge Report only recommended that the government fight squalor.
Correct answer: The Beveridge Report recommended government action against disease and squalour.
The Beveridge Report recommended a laissez-faire approach to public health.

Additional material

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