CHILDREN at a Renfrewshire primary were ordered to do PE in their bare feet in case they spoiled the shiny floor on their posh new gym.

The newly completed exercise area at Inchinnan Primary in Greenock Road opened last week for the first time after the school holidays.

However, pupils who did not have white soles on their trainers were told they could not take part in case they damaged the floor.

Instead the boys and girls were told to take off their shoes and socks and do it barefoot.

One angry parent, who has two children at Inchinnan, said: “Over the past year, we have been told about the exciting new gym hall being built and how good it’s going to be for our children going forward. 

“The gym hall officially opened this week for the kids to start using.

“They’ve been told that, as it’s a brand new floor, if they don’t have ‘white soles’ on their trainers then they have to take their shoes and socks off and do gym in their bare feet.

“This is happening to kids as young as five, putting them at risk of getting cuts on their feet.

“This is all to ‘preserve’ the new floor and is causing outrage amongst parents.”

It’s understood that the pupils had been without a gym for around 18 months while their new one was being built as part of an improvement programme.

The previous gym had been converted into a nursery and children had to do PE outdoors or in a local church.

Their new gym was used for the first time on October 19.

Following complains from parents, head teacher Nicola McGlynn sent a message at the start of this week.

It said: “Apologies around recent confusion re footwear for PE. Moving forward no child will be asked to undertake PE in their bare feet.

“Children who do not have suitable footwear will be offered a pair of school gym shoes for use that day, in order that they do not miss their allocation.

“If any parent would like assistance around funding sportswear, please contact the school directly, as we have dedicated funding to assist families.”

Another parent told The Gazette that most of the parents were unhappy about the barefoot ruling.

She added: “The issue with children doing gym in their barefoot had been ongoing since the gym opened last week.

“The school started back tracking on Monday when we all got a message from the head teacher.

“They told us that the children wouldn’t have to do it barefoot and they would provide appropriate footwear with the proper soles.

“They could have told us at the start of the term to only buy ones with white soles.

“The parents and pupils have been waiting for ages for this new gym and now it causes all this drama when it does open.

“But that wasn’t our fault, it was a lack of communication from the school.”

It is understood that children were asked to go barefoot, as they might slip in their socks.

Around 40 per cent are thought to have been affected because they didn’t have the right shoes.

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “The health and safety of our children remains our highest priority. 

“We continue to work with parents to ensure their child has the right footwear for physical education lessons.”