Kirkcaldy school where 21 languages are spoken is celebrating a Scottish first

Kirkcaldy North Primary School is one of six in the UK to receive the honour in recognition of the work it has done to be a school where all languages spoken by the pupils are welcomed and valued.

Among a roll of 176 pupils, there are currently 21 different nationalities represented across the school and nursery, and 21 different languages spoken - and that diversity is what makes the award “something really quite special.”

The Language Friendly School is both a label and a global network of schools that embrace the variety of languages spoken by children.

The school has a Parental Engagement Working Group which is working on an action plan to enhance parental engagement across the school and nursery. One of its aims is to ensure that all parents and families feel welcome in the school.

The Parent Council recently purchased flags to represent each of the nationalities in the school community and these now hang in the central hall, and feedback from children and parents has been heartwarming.

Headteacher, Emma Clunie, said, “This is really quite special and unique to our school and we feel it truly celebrates the diversity within our community. It is one of the first things to be commented on by visitors. We’ve even had parents take photos to send to relatives in their home countries, thrilled to see their nation’s flag represented in our school.”

Recently, the school’s commitment to embracing a language culture led to Kirkcaldy North being recognised as Scotland’s first and only Language Friendly School.

EAL teacher, Beverley Clunie - a commitment to welcome and celebrate all languages spoken by our children and parents, and a dedication to work hard to ensure no child is disadvantaged when speaking English as an Additional Language.

“We encourage children to speak in their home language and have recently established a group of language ambassadors, made up of children who speak a variety of languages across our school, including English. They will lead the work on our Language Friendly School action plan to ensure that we continue to create an inclusive and language friendly learning environment for all.”

Kirkcaldy North holds a weekly parent and child ESOL group - English for Speakers of Other Languages -with the support of Fife Council’s ESOL Service and Fife Community Interpreting Service.

Parents and children enjoy participating in a range of activities in both English and their home languages. The school also holds a weekly language exchange club for children, led by pupil support assistant, Maureen Londra, where children have the opportunity to speak in their home language, teach their home language to others or learn languages for the first time.

The lunchtime club is incredibly popular, with one child commenting, “it is so good to have the chance to teach other people our language and to feel confident and comfortable speaking our own language and having the opportunity to express ourselves.”

Ms Clunie added: “All members of the Kirkcaldy North community are committed to promoting equality and diversity. Becoming Scotland’s first Language Friendly School is a reflection of this commitment and I am so grateful to have the support of children, parents, staff and partners as we drive this work forward.”