Neeps and tatties help school serve up vital lessons about equality

Anew project is teaching children about equality – through neeps and tatties. Pupils at Tulloch Primary School, Perth, read Neeps and Tatties, a book written entirely in Scots which tells the story of two vegetable tribes who must put the past behind them in the interests of a better future.

The book, created by author Carey Morning and illustrator Anna York, takes a look at issues such as discrimination and prejudice and includes a series of classroom activities based around the story.

It was brought to Tulloch Primary School by Stewarts of Tayside, who teamed up with equalities charity Nil by Mouth.

Since being launched in January 2021, the book has been used in more than 1,200 schools across Scotland.

The support from Stewarts of Tayside will allow teachers from across Perth and Kinross to obtain free copies of the book and classroom resources throughout the year.

Stewarts HR director Sheena Stewart said: “We are delighted to be able to support this worthwhile project by ensuring schools in Tayside are able to enjoy the story and use the resources to discuss how we celebrate community in class.

“We loved how the book uses the food we take such pride in producing as a way of telling a story with such a powerful message and it’s fantastic to hear that it’s proving so popular in local schools with more than 50 primaries already receiving copies.

“As food producers, we understand the importance of sowing seeds and ensuring you provide the right conditions for them to grow.

“The same principle applies in education, if you help children at an early age better understand the world and different cultures around them they will develop into more thoughtful, wiser adults.”

Nil by Mouth director Dave Scott said: “Neeps and Tatties was originally launched as a way of maintaining a connection with schools during Covid.

“But it quickly became clear there was a huge appetite for the project, with hundreds of teachers and parents downloading the materials and requesting the book.

“It’s snowballed since and we’ve now had requests for books and resources from more than 1,000 schools right across Scotland. Better still, we’ve seen them take the project in all sorts of directions, with the book being used in school assemblies, art projects, inter-faith gatherings and even a project promoting intergenerational reading.

“Each term we receive hundreds of tweets and messages from teachers highlighting how pupils are enjoying taking part and there remains an inescapable magic in a teacher capturing the imagination of a child through reading.

“Neeps and Tatties is a simple, yet effective, way of helping children explore the things that make us different whilst also providing an opportunity to discuss their own culture and way.

“We are very grateful to Sheena and everyone at Stewarts for getting behind the project and ensuring all schools in Perth and Kinross can benefit.”

Tulloch Primary 7 teacher Megan Marston added: “We are delighted to receive these books thanks to the generosity of Stewarts of Tayside and I look forward to seeing what our children and staff do with the resource.

“This resource is a great stimulus and will enable children and staff to explore important issues around the rights of the child and how we better understand differences between people.” beliefs in a positive

VITAL RESOURCE: Pupils at Tulloch Primary School have been reading Neeps and Tatties and benefiting from learning resources, in a project supported by Nil by Mouth and Stewarts of Tayside.