Children at a Midlothian primary school had a special serving of ‘Neeps and Tatties’ on the menu this week thanks to a visit from Nil by Mouth and the authority’s Cabinet Member for Education.
Pupils at Gorebridge Primary took part in a special event with Cllr Ellen Scott exploring the Scots language as part of the ‘Neeps and Tatties’ project which uses a storybook written in the language to explore religious and cultural differences between people.
Created by author Carey Morning and illustrator Anna York, ‘Neeps & Tatties’ tells the story of two warring vegetable tribes who are finally encouraged to put the past behind them in the interests of a better future. The book examines issues such as discrimination and prejudice and includes a series of classroom games and activities based around the story that explore different cultures, including looking at the significance of food and festivals in different traditions.
Since being launched in January 2021 it has been used in over 1,200 schools right across Scotland and during January the charity brings together a range of public figures and Scots artists to bring the book to life in classrooms. Cllr Scott showed her support for the project by reading the story to pupils at Gorebridge and free copies of the book are to be made available to teachers across Midlothian thanks to support from the Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust.
Cllr Scott said:
‘This is a beautifully written and illustrated book with an important message about the type of welcoming place we all want Scotland to be. It provides a way of helping children learn more about cultures and traditions different to their own and uses the associated activities like ‘what’s on your plate’ to think about different festivals and religious requitements when it comes to sharing food with each other. We will share this resource freely across Midlothian schools digitally and the charity has kindly agreed to my suggestion that our teachers can also claim a free hard copy of the book for use in class and in school libraries. There is a great joy in watching a child learn through reading and this is a great way of allowing them to enjoy a story whilst at the same time consider some big and important issues in life.’
Nil by Mouth Director Dave Scott said:
'We are delighted that Ellen has been so generous with her time and support to come along and read the story to the class today. Since we launched this project in 2021 more than 1,200 schools have taken part and we hope to ensure in the run up to Burns Night every primary in Midlothian will have copies to use in class. Teachers repeatedly tell us that ‘Neeps & Tatties’ provides a gentle way of approaching some difficult issues and having local leaders like Ellen come along to bring the story to life is a huge bonus for our campaign, to create a Scotland that is bigger, better and bolder than bigotry.’
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