ABSTRACT
Policy agendas for education in the UK, as in many countries, are driven by the expectation that physical education (PE) will impact positively on a child's health and well-being, acting as a vehicle through which to address wider societal issues such as obesity and sedentary lifestyles. This chapter focuses on the place of health within pre-school settings and formal schooling in England with a specific focus on PE. In doing so, the chapter will critically examine educational policy in the form of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework and the National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) to discuss how and where health sits within current policy and practice. The authors draw upon several research projects to provide an analysis and critique of policy and concepts of health within the context of PE. The chapter draws on empirical data to illustrate how policy is recontextualised in different settings as well as highlighting important debates around the narrow view of health created by and through policy.
