Reflexology is the practice of manipulating the feet in an attempt to combat problems in the rest of the body or mind. It involves applying pressure to specific points, and is often used to ease headaches, backache and sinus problems.

Now Lambeth Council will introduce it into schools as a means of dealing with badly behaved pupils.

Therapists from Bud-Umbrella, a London-based charity which offers complementary therapies to adults and children, will visit 60 primary and 14 secondary schools in Lambeth. They will work with children under age 13 who are considered badly behaved.

According to Bud-Umbrella's website, the alternative therapy is "very beneficial" and can calm aggressive feelings, improve listening skills and concentration, as well as relieve anxiety and stress. It also says the therapy "creates a feeling of wellbeing”. Lar month, ministers in Britain said that schools would be judged on their contribution to pupils' wellbeing.

"It's incredibly important that we address young people's behavioural problems and we make no apologies for using different and innovative methods, but this obviously won't replace more traditional ways of dealing with anti-social behaviour," a spokesperson for Lambeth Council said.

"We have just pumped an extra £2m into youth services overall and we provide a whole raft of both traditional and innovative measures to tackle anti-social behaviour across the borough.

"We need to deal with the root causes of young people's behavioural problems and nip them in the bud - prevention is better than cure... There has been a 50% increase in attendance and 60% decrease in exclusions among young people involved in the programme."

But Prof David Colquhoun, pharmacologist at University College London and campaigner against "quackery", is sharply critical of the initiative:

"This is all a bit heartbreaking. Reflexology is a type of quackery based on nonsensical principles, and it should not be paid for by taxpayers. There isn't a happ'orth of reason to think that it is any different from plain old foot massage.

"The council missed a chance to compare 'reflexology' with massage in a way that might contribute to, rather than obscure, knowledge," he said.

"It's always possible that kids might benefit from the attention involved in having their feet massaged (as long as they aren't too ticklish), but there will be no way of telling whether there was any improvement or not, because there seems to be no comparison group.

"It sounds like a repeat of the farcical Durham fish oil non-trials that were exposed so effectively by Ben Goldacre." (Source: Guardian)