Neeps & Tatties toasts success at Linlithgow Primary School

Nil by Mouth’s Neeps & Tatties book has been used in over 1000 primary schools since its launch in January 2021 and its success was recognised at a special event at Linlithgow Primary School on Wednesday, attended by Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown.

Written entirely in Scots, and 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.

The book examines issues such as discrimination and prejudice, highlighting how old grievance can be overcome by a new generation asking questions. The charity has devised a series of classroom games and activities based around the story.

It’s offered free to schools in the run up to Burns Night and is now being made available to teaching students at the Universities of Aberdeen and Strathclyde.

During the event, Siobhian read the book to P3 pupils and joined the Scots Language Centre's Laura Green in a special Burns Night workshop celebrating Scots words pupils use every day.

Siobhian said: “It was a pleasure to visit Linlithgow Primary School to help celebrate the success of Nil by Mouth’s Neeps & Tatties.

“Scotland is a diverse society and it is vital to inform and educate children about the importance of having respect for religious and cultural differences.”

Neeps & Tatties has been used across all 32 Scottish local authorities. It is supported by the Scottish Government as part of its Tackling Sectarianism programme.

Nil by Mouth director Dave Scott said: “Neeps & 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.

“It’s snowballed since and we’ve had requests for books and resources from more than 1000 schools. We’ve also seen them take the project in all sorts of directions.”