Barefoot schools - would you like to free your feet?

Children at a school in Perth, Australia have been told they can walk around with no shoes or socks on.

"We believe that children need opportunities to explore indoor and outdoor environments without shoes," Inglewood Primary School said in a newsletter.

Announcing the decision, the school said being barefoot helped children in several ways including improving posture (the way someone holds their body when standing).

"Going barefoot is beneficial to children as it nourishes, strengthens and promotes agility in a child's growing feet, ankles, legs, knees and hips," the school added.

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Do Australians love going barefoot?

There isn't a shoe shortage in Australia, but going barefoot in public places in the country isn't unusual and is seen as perfectly normal.

"If people were asked to typify aspects of Australian culture, barefoot would be in there," says David Rowe, a professor of cultural research.

Professor Rowe explained that people moving to Australia from colder places such as Britain, had brought about the culture of removing footwear.

"The culture developed of removing your shoes, as a sign this is a new country, sun-loving, fun-loving place, you can cast off your footwear and embrace the land."

Meanwhile, Australian Paul Thompson is the founder of the global Barefoot movement, which encourages people to go without shoes. He says "using our body how it was meant to be used, is really beneficial.

"There's a lot more research now going into barefootedness. It's growing in Australia, it's growing all around the world."

Is wearing no shoes good for you?

The barefoot decision at Inglewood primary came after the school was chosen for an Australian education scheme, aimed at improving teaching for pupils in their kindergarten through to Year 2.

Under the scheme, the school decided to allow children to make their own choices about things, including whether to remove their shoes during the school day.

However, Australian foot doctor Burke Hugo said: "If they're in a safe environment it certainly won't hurt them, and maybe it will give them a little bit of freedom, but there's no plausible evidence that shows benefits to it over wearing well fitted shoes."