Nil by Mouth took our work in a new direction this month with a visit to the most northernly school on mainland Britain.
The Charity’s Director Dave Scott took a
visited pupils this week at Canisbay Primary, just outside John O’Groats, as part of their studies into religion in Scotland.
The charity’s ’United Against Division’ programme runs in schools across the country giving young people a greater understanding of different faiths and cultures as well as encouraging them to consider the impact of their language and actions on others.
Earlier this year pupils in Canisbay received copies of Nil by Mouth’s ‘Neeps & Tatties’ resource which uses the Scots language to explore prejudice and discrimination in the run up to Burns Night. This encouraged staff to reach out to the Glasgow based charity for an online workshop and we offered to go one better and visit in person.
During the session pupils discussed stereotypes, differences within Christianity, the role families play in shaping identities and took part in a number of role play games including how young people deal with prejudice on social media sites.
Nil by Mouth Director David Scott said:
‘It was a joy to visit Canisbay and I was struck by how engaged with the issue the children where and how much they appreciated an external visitor to the school. Our work is about helping children find their own answers and consider opinions different to their own. Faith remains an important part of life in Scotland and we need to equip young people with the knowledge around the different types of belief they will encounter in life. We have a proud record of working with small rural schools and would encourage teachers working in them to get in touch if they think there is benefit in working together with us.’