Creative approaches to primary physical education

In this chapter, I wish to argue that teaching physical education; learning to move and moving to learn www.afpe.org.uk)), is itself a creative act, rather akin to a creative performance that is based on expertise, structure and facilitation. The notion of creativity has a long history related to educational provision in the UK. Creativity is typically described in terms of a product, a process or a creative person (Taylor, 1998; Lubart, 1999) and can relate to ideas, playfulness, exploration, problem-solving, purposefulness and artistic and imaginative invention. The first wave of education policy related to child-centred philosophy and practice in education in the UK came during the 1960s Plowden era (Central Advisory Council in Education, 1967). Here creativity was viewed as a ‘soft’ or relaxed approach to teaching and learning where children were discovering learning for themselves, with little support or guidance.