Homework Research public attitudes towards the welfare state, in preparation for a debate, next week.

Welfare Lesson 1 What is the welfare state? When, in 1941, the government commissioned a report into the ways that Britain should be rebuilt after World War Two, William Beveridge (director of the London School of Economics) was an obvious choice to take charge. He published his report in 1942 and recommended that the government should find ways of fighting the five 'Giant Evils' of 'Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness'. Watch this video; how did Beveridge plan to fight these 5 Giant Evils?

Read the article: 1942: Beveridge lays welfare foundations On a post-it note write down 5 key facts about the inception of the welfare state. Walk about / talk about: Around the room are a series of images. Annotate them: What does each picture tell us about the effect of / importance of the Welfare State.

Centre of the Universe. The welfare state helps people in need. The welfare state makes people lazy because they don’t need to find work. Healthcare should be free at the point of the use. Education should be free at the point of use. The richest people should look after the poorest. I am proud to live in a country with a welfare state. The government should build more council properties for people on low incomes to live in. People get money from the state, when they are looking for work.

Plenary Write a paragraph explaining whether you think the welfare state was a good or a bad idea. – In your answer, use a quotation from the article: 1942: Beveridge lays welfare foundations You might want to use these sentence starters: – I think the welfare state is a good thing for society because….. – I think the welfare state is a bad thing for society because….. – In the article it says….. – I think this is a good/bad thing because…..