Aberdeenshire Council serves up Neeps and Tatties to bairns

A leading equalities charity has joined forces with Aberdeenshire Council to use the Scots language to help build bridges between children from different cultures.

Nil by Mouth secured support from Aberdeenshire Council to provide copies of Neeps and Tatties, a book going into more than 20 schools across Aberdeenshire in the run up to St Andrews Day.

Created by author Carey Morning and illustrator Anna York, Neeps and 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, highlighting how old grievance can be overcome by a new generation.

The charity has devised a series of classroom games and activities based around the story to encourage children to explore different cultures, including looking at the significance of food and festivals in different traditions.

Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee chair Cllr Gillian Owen joined pupils from Torphins Primary School on Monday (November 14) to officially launch the partnership.

Cllr Owen said: “‘Aberdeenshire is the heartland of Scots and Doric and we are delighted to have been able to make this resource available across our schools.

“Neeps and Tatties is a clever way of helping children learn more about their own culture as well as understanding more about those of others.

“It’s great to see so many schools have already signed up to take part on this project and I hope more of our schools will register for the resources and help bring this story of building bridges higher than walls to life in classrooms across the county.”

Any teacher looking to sign up and claim their free book just needs to email mail@nilbymouth.org with their name and address of their school.

Nil by Mouth Engagement Officer Emma Alexander added: “The support we’ve been given by Aberdeenshire Council means that all its primary schools should be able to obtain teachers copies of the book and all the resources required to help them bring the story to life.

“Scots is widely spoken and understood in Aberdeenshire and we hope that in addition to helping pupils learn more about different cultures and belief it will also deepen their understanding and appreciation of the many Scots words which enrich their lives.

“So much of our work challenging bigotry deals with how words can be used to hurt or belittle others. That’s why its brilliant to be able to celebrate language and the different ways we can express ourselves.

“The stories we tell our children help shape how they see the world and make sense of the differences that exist around them.”