Multilingual Verses North East

Who is it for?

Children aged 3-7 in the North East of England.

We can only accept entries from schools or groups in the local authority areas in the North East of England: Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton and Hartlepool, who are:

• in an Early Years Foundation Stage setting and Key Stage 1
• learning at a community school or supplementary school
• learning outside mainstream school (including home schooling – submissions must be via a school)

When will it happen?

• Advance registration from mid-November 2025
• Take part from 6th January. Submissions for Multilingual Verses North East can be sent in any time after 6th January until 5pm on 31st March 2026
• The submissions will be compiled into a digital anthology and shared before the end of the summer school term to celebrate this year’s Festival

What is the activity?

We all remember and love the verses we learnt as children from families and friends.

We are inviting are inviting teachers in Early Years and KS1 settings with bilingual or multilingual children in their classes to engage children in this creative activity, to produce verses and texts in languages representing all of their communities. Counting rhymes, nursery rhymes, cautionary tales, rhymes to support play – all are welcome!

Teaching resources will be provided to teachers who register. This activity encourages sharing within the classroom or group of young children, whether they speak a different home language (other than English) or not.

This is a fun learning and sharing exercise which embraces all languages and enables children to hear and appreciate the diversity of languages and cultures where they are learning.  For educators, it is an opportunity to shine a light on diverse languages and cultures in their communities and let children shine, share and be proud of their own cultures.

For each text we would welcome all, or any, of the following:

• A title and indication of language
• A short, written version in the original language
• A version in English to help others understand
• An audio or video recording (lasting no more than 60-90 seconds) of a recitation of the text, ideally featuring children’s voices

We ask that anything you share does not underlie any copyright, for example:

• please do share traditional playground or counting rhymes, nursery rhymes, cautionary tales, rhymes to support play
• please do not share the title song of a children’s TV show, or a rhyme made famous through a specific modern children’s book

The collected resources will be compiled into a regional digital anthology, shared with all those who have made submissions and more widely, as part of the Multilingual Verses national project, for other children, classes and teachers to enjoy and learn from.

How do I get involved?

Teachers should register by emailing info@expressyourselfne.com to take part and receive teaching resources and the entry submission link.  Please provide the following information:

• the name of the activity (Multilingual Verses North East)
• your nursery, school or community school name and address
• the name and email of the main contact
• what the age range or key stage of the children and young people taking part is
• the number of children you expect to take part

Advance registration opens in November 2025, with resources sent from 6th January for for activities taking place from 6th January to 31st March.

For any questions or concerns, please email Dr Sabine Little at the University of Sheffield: s.little@sheffield.ac.uk

Submitting your entries: Entries can be submitted from 6th January up to the deadline of 5pm on 31st March 2026 by email to: , in accordance with the guidance provided. Feedback will not be provided on any entries.

A digital anthology will be produced and shared with all teachers who have registered and will also be shared online through the Festival website and social media.

International School Award: When you have submitted your entries, if your school does not already have an International School Award Foundation Certificate from British Council, you will be awarded this and sent the certificate after the Festival and by the end of April 2026.

Further information and links

Other Festival multilingual creative projects: This activity is one of 5 projects running from 6th January to 31st March which schools, community schools and groups can participate in:

• Together we fly! World Friendship art project (3-18 years). Nurseries, schools, community schools and colleges can create and submit colourful origami butterflies with drawings and/or messages of friendship written in different languages as part of a celebratory public art installation in Newcastle Civic Centre.
• Festival Song – Love is the only River  (7-18 yrs) We invite children and young people across the North East to sing, sign, play and perform ‘Love is the only river’ in the languages that children speak at home, in the community or are learning. Videos of performances will be combined to produce a regional multilingual version of the song.
• Mother Tongue Other Tongue (7-18 yrs) children’s writing activity, expressing themselves by reproducing a poem in their own language or writing a piece in a language they are learning. Certificates for entries, which will also be part of a digital anthology.
• Language Calligrams Celebration (For 7-9 and 9-11 year olds) Create calligrams in any language (other than English) based on words children already know. School certificates for all and selected entries included in an ebook.

There are also a wide range of free events, activities and resources that schools and groups can access for free. Visit the What’s On page for details and you can also follow the Festival on twitter @EYFOLNE, join us on facebook here, follow us on Instagram eyfolne, #EYFOLNE

Who is organising this?

This activity has been developed specifically for Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages, as part of the national Multilingual Verses project, developed by the Association of Language Learning, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield City of Languages:

• Contact: Dr Sabine Little
• Email: s.little@sheffield.ac.uk