In early childhood, barefoot play is often celebrated. In School Age Care (SAC). however, shoes are frequently the default. Kept on from the classroom to the OSHC/OOSH space without question. But what if we paused and asked what are children and young people’s feet, bodies, and nervous systems asking for when the school day ends?
What if we barefoot time was reframed as an evidence-informed wellbeing practice, rather than a playful luxury or am early-learning concept that no longer applies?
Being barefoot outdoors is often discussed as a sensory or nature-based experience and it is grounding, calming, and regulating. But it’s also biomechanically important. Children and young people’s feet are not fully developed until their late adolescence. Bones are still ossifying, arches are forming and muscles, tendons and ligaments are adapting with every step. When rigid or narrow shoes are worn for long periods, particularly shows that limit toe spread or natural foot movement, this development can be restricted.
Research supports what many educators observe in practice. Morrison et al. (2018) found that poorly fitted footwear is associated with reduced balance and motor coordination, while barefoot children demonstrated better postural stability and stronger foot muscles. Sichting et al. (2021) similarly reported that children who wore minimalist footwear - with flexible soles, wide toe boxes and no heel - showed significantly improved foot function and balance compared to peers in conventional shoes. When children and young people are able to move naturally, whether barefoot or in barefoot-friendly footwear, their bodies are learning, strengthening, and integrating in ways structured shoes may inhibit.
The soles of the feet are densely packed with sensory receptors, making them a powerful site for tactile and proprioceptive input. When children and young people walk barefoot, they’re not just stepping - they’re calibrating, adjusting, and receiving feedback that supports balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and emotional regulation (Naboso, n.d.; Teach RARE, 2024). Over time, this sensory stimulation contributes to what is often described as body literacy: a growing awareness of one’s physical self in space and a growing capacity to listen to bodily cues.
In School Age Care, many children and young people often arrive mentally fatigued or emotionally overstimulated after a full day of structured learning. Barefoot movement can act as a form of sensory decompression - helping bodies settle, nervous systems regulate and children reconnect with themselves in a grounded and embodied way.
Viewed through the Phoenix Cups Framework (Phoenix & Phoenix, 2022), barefoot play can meet several core human needs simultaneously. It can support freedom through choice, fun through movement and playfulness, safety through regulation and grounding, and connection through shared experiences and engagement with the environment. Similarly, Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) highlights autonomy, competence, and relatedness as essential psychological needs. Offering barefoot choice respects bodily autonomy, supports physical competence, and fosters connection - with self, with others, and with place.
There is also a strong rights-based perspective to consider. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31), affirms every child’s right to play, rest, and engage in cultural practices. For many children and young people, those practices naturally include barefoot movement.
In many cultures, barefoot movement is not simply a physical physical state but a deeply embedded expression of identity, freedom and connection. In Aotearoa New Zealand, for example, barefoot movement is widely accepted and culturally normalised. Many Māori and Pākehā families view barefoot play as supporting physical health, confidence, and connection to whenua - the land (de Turenne, 2024). Here in Australia, many First Nations Peoples hold deeply embodied, relational connections to Country. Walking barefoot can symbolise and support a way of being that is attuned to place, respectful of natural rhythms, and grounded through the senses. First Nations pedagogies emphasis learning as holistic, lived, and felt - with Country asteacher, and learning through immersion, observation, and movement (Harrison, 2011)
Both the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 and My Time Our Place V2.0 frameworks recognise that connection to land and nature is central to identity and wellbeing. When approached with cultural awareness and genuine intention, barefoot play in School Age Care can be one way of supporting children and young people to feel grounded, strong in their bodies, and connected to place.
“Country is not just land. It is a living entity, a teacher, a source of identity, law and belonging.” (adapted from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on pedagogy (UNESCO, 2022)
A recent conversation with a colleague helped me reframe barefoot practice not as an all-or-nothing decision, but as an invitation into foot literacy adn body autonomy. As they shared, even when children aren't barefoot, they can still move as though they are - if they have the right footwear.
This reflection shifted my thinking away from rigid barefoot-or-not rules and toward more responsive, child-centred approaches. Not all spaces andnot all children and young people, will be suited to barefoot play every day. But we can still create environments that respect bodies and support sensory wellbeing through barefoot-friendly zones, choice around shoes indoors and outdoors, and conversations with families about minimalist footwear that honours the natural shape and function of growing feet.
Ultimately, this is about offering autonomy, respecting diversity, and creating conditions where all children and young people can move, feel, and belong.
For School Age Care teams, this might look like creating intentional barefoot-friendly spaces, co-constructing safety agreements with children and young people, offering foot-washing stations or warm mats, and inviting children to notice how their bodies feel with and without shoes. It might include building a simple “shoes off” ritual that symbolically marks the transition from school mode to SAC mode — a cue that the body can soften and the nervous system can settle.
As teams reflect, it can be helpful to ask what current footwear expectations communicate to children and young people. Are we supporting their right to choose how they move and play? How might barefoot time support those who find transitions or sensory regulation challenging? What assumptions about safety, control, or professionalism might be worth gently unlearning?
In School Age Care, where transitions are frequent and autonomy is essential, barefoot time can be a quiet yet powerful act of wellbeing. It honours bodies, supports nervous systems, and invites joy. And sometimes, it is exactly what a child or young person needs to feel steady, centred, and fully themselves again.
References
Department of Education, Skills and Employment. (2022). My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia V2.0.
de Turenne, S. (2024, June 8). For New Zealand parents, barefoot children are happy children. Le Monde. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/intimacy/article/2024/06/08/for-new-zealand-parents-barefoot-children-are-happy-children_6674188_310.html
Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and Learning in Aboriginal Education. Oxford University Press.
Morrison, S. C., Price, C., McClymont, J., & Nester, C. (2018). Big issues for small feet: Developmental, biomechanical and clinical narratives on children's footwear. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 11(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-018-0281-2
Naboso. (2019). Benefits of barefoot stimulation for children. https://uk.naboso.com/blogs/the-barefoot-advantage/benefits-of-barefoot-stimulation-for-children
Phoenix, S., & Phoenix, C. (2022). The Phoenix Cups: A cup-filling framework for wellbeing. Cup Filling Publications.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Press.
Author: Annette Johnson