‘Language of the month’ celebrates the different backgrounds of the school’s pupils, encourages understanding of other cultures and gives the children an opportunity to communicate in a different language each month. The scheme introduces everyone at the school to some of the 40 languages spoken in the school community with children as young as 4 able to express themselves in different languages.

All 700 children, from the Nursery to Year 6, participate in the scheme, which highlights the value of all languages. Each month, one pupil becomes the ‘language expert’, recording words and phrases for everyone to learn and giving an insight into their culture. Each month teachers receive a resource pack with display materials, suggested activities and audio and video clips of basic words and phrases recorded by a pupil at the school and a family member.

Language of the month resources are now available on CD-ROM and via the school website inspiring other schools in the borough to follow suit. INSET sessions have been run for local colleagues looking to adopt the scheme and there has been interest from as far away as Denmark.

The project also received the London Turkish Radio Community Languages prize of £1,000.