Care as a Core Practice Within Primary Education

Synonyms

Care ethics; Inclusion; Reflective practice; Values; Well-being

Introduction

To care is essentially a natural and fundamental human activity but is open to interpretation when viewed through different lenses. Key concepts, promoted through literature and media sources, focus on the idea of caring about, or for, something, someone, or the self. In the most simplistic terms, caring can be considered as a way to give support, to show concern, or to notice the needs of others or the self.

In relation to physical education as a curricular subject in schools, it remains a compulsory school subject within the National Curriculum in England (DfE 2013) for all children aged 5–16. Teachers demonstrate their care for the pupils they teach by developing opportunities to embed character, by developing important values such as resilience, fairness, and respect, and of course, by becoming physically confident.

Care could also be reflected by the call from the teaching profession for it to...