With schools coming under pressure to perform and produce outcomes, the caring practices of the institution have been increasingly framed around issues of achievement, excellence and outcomes. In this article, we examine how the performativity-driven practices of care impact on the possibilities of social inclusion for marginalised students. Drawing on case study data from two 14-year-old students in a government secondary school located in a low socio-economic suburb of Melbourne, Australia, we argue that the performative ethic of care fails to cater for the more complex needs of these students. Lacking the qualities of 'good student' as independent and successful learners, these students are positioned and treated differently in their schools, leading to their weak sense of belonging to the institution. We maintain that a plural social justice framework focusing on the politics of redistribution and recognition can provide the basis of a socially just education for marginalised students.