Some schools have scrapped costumes for World Book Day on Thursday, citing the cost of living crisis.
While in the past many schools asked children to dress up as their favourite book character for the event, in recent years some schools have adopted more flexible policies, asking children to wear pyjamas or comfortable clothing instead.
“For a number of years now we have encouraged our parents not to purchase shop-bought costumes due to the expense,” said Emma Keogh, deputy headteacher of Pleasant Street primary school in Liverpool. Instead, the school has held non-uniform days and pyjama days, linked to bedtime stories. “We are doing the same again this year.”
“We are conscious that [costumes] can be a huge expense for parents, especially if they have more than one child, and that parents may not have the time to make something homemade so we don’t want them to feel under pressure,” she added.
Last month, BBC Radio 4 Money Box presenter Felicity Hannah said that she had received an email from her children’s school stating its plans to hold a “get comfy and read” day, with children encouraged to wear home clothes. “I love it! The MONEY the parents will save and the WASTE that will be avoided,” she added in a post on X.
Causeway pre-school in Portrush, Northern Ireland, is also giving children the option to wear pyjamas or a costume to school, and encouraging them to bring their favourite books. “We are mindful of the cost of living crisis and realise costumes can be expensive,” it said.
“Bittersweet news in the school newsletter: for World Book Day, kids won’t have to dress up but they can wear their own clothes,” wrote Edda Nicolson in a post on X. “Great to recognise the cost of living crisis, but sad to see children not having a dress up day because so many parents are struggling.”
World Book Day chief executive Cassie Chadderton said that the charity has always asked schools to “have a think about their context, have a think about the children that are in their setting, and think about what will work best for them”, so it was interesting that the discussion about costumes “has become more vocal this year”.
The day “is all about trying to make sure that even more children, and particularly those who are experiencing poverty and are hit by the cost of living crisis, appreciate that reading is something that is a pleasure and will have enormous benefits to a child’s life chances”, Chadderton added.
As part of World Book Day, all primary school children are given a book voucher which they can exchange for one of a selection of books.
