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As World Book Day approaches (5 March for anyone who doesn’t have it etched into their brain yet), our thoughts have turned to the very important issue of The Costume.

If you want to avoid a class full of Harry Potters and Elsas (not that there’s anything wrong with that per se, but variety is the spice of life) – or indeed an eleventh hour panic about your own costume – the key is preparation. You need to help get your children (and crucially their parents) inspired early and leave plenty of time for charity shop trawling and cardboard painting!

With this in mind, here are a few costume ideas with literary credibility…

Lewis Carroll

Elena Schweitzer. Shutterstock

Alice in Wonderland is brilliant fodder for fancy-dress, whether it’s the eponymous Alice, the Mad Hatter, Tweedle-Dum and/or Tweedle-Dee, or the Red Queen. While you might not have a sky-blue dress and white pinny in the back of the wardrobe – this could be a good investment for many a Book Day to come. Alternatively you could get creative with a white T, marker pens and felt for a Tweedle-Dum/Tweedle-Dee look. Especially good for twins!…

Charles Dickens

debr22pics. Shutterstock

Tattered trousers, a granddad shirt, braces or a waistcoat, a few smudges on your face, and a flat cap – and you can legitimately claim to be any scruffy Dickensian orphan – from Oliver to Pip to David Copperfield. And for those of you out there with a carefully zipped up wedding dress still in its dust bag, how about layering on a few cotton-wool cobwebs to rock that Miss Haversham look. Or not…

Roald Dahl

alexsvirid. Shutterstock

We may not be able to transform ourselves into Quentin Blake-style illustrations (more’s the pity) but we can accessorise. I fully intend to send my son to school this year with a large cardboard peach. Guess what his name is…

Alternatively, if you aren’t lucky enough to be called James, you could try a mouse mask to channel Luke from The Witches – or if you’re a grown-up, gloves, wigs, thick makeup and constant remarks about children being smelly would also make for a passable costume from the same book.

A.A. Milne

Jules Selmes. ɫèAV Education Ltd

Animals are fairly easy to pull off, and Winnie the Pooh has more literary credibility than the majority of stuffed toys. Dress in orange and black, create a tail out of stripy tights, check out the local party shop for a pair of ears and voila – one Tigger ready to go. And if you want to add in a little Buzz Lightyear, who’s to say you can’t.

Roger Hargreaves

Mr Bump. Courtesy of Ladybird Books

The Mr. Men and Little Misses are the Kings and Queens of children’s literature. They’re cute, witty and there’s always a moral to the tale – ergo very educational!

And with such distinctive characteristics, they’ve each got something to imitate: some blue facepaint and some bandages and voila, one Mr Bump. Admittedly other characters may require a bit more arts and crafts, but a big cardboard box and some poster paint, and you’re just a colourful mess away from the perfect personalised costume.

Frank L. Baum

SophieWitch

Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz… need we say more? There’s so much scope here – some silver spraypaint, corrugated cardboard and a funnel gets you a tinman, a blue and white checked school dress with some plaits and some red shoes etc etc, but we’re rooting for the wicked witch of the West because of the potential for green-face paint. Always a winner.

And some runners-up…

• Anything Austeny or Bronte-esque – if you can find or make a dress!
• The Dictionary/Thesaurus – fashion a cape out of pages from the dictionary, if you can bear to destroy one. A photocopier might help out with this!
• Gothic Horror – Frankenstein, Dracula (with due care and consideration given to the audience!).
• There’s this new thing called The Hunger Games apparently.
• Charlie and Lola
• Nursery rhymes
• Narnia
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And if all else fails…

Well, Harry Potter is popular for a reason… and Disney costumes are generally easy to come by. It’s not cheating if they made a book out of the cartoon, is it?!

Regular readers of this blog will know that we have long argued that the fairest and most effective way to judge schools is by the progress their pupils make.

We’re delighted, then, to have launched a new report, together with the CentreForum think tank, on this issue: .

Following on from an earlier report on secondary school accountability, the report argues that pupil progress, rather than attainment, should be the principal floor target for primary schools, for the following reasons:

• A progress measure encourages schools to focus on all pupils, because the performance of all pupils counts equally towards school performance by that measure. An attainment-based measure has the potential to encourage schools to focus more narrowly on pupils near the threshold, because it is here that schools stand to make the most gains in their measured performance. Consequently, pupils far below the expected standard risk being left behind, while those far above may not be adequately stretched.

• A progress measure considers pupil performance in light of their individual starting points. In this way it is able to better identify the impact of the school from circumstances outside of its control, i.e. the prior attainment of its intake. An attainment measure puts schools with lower prior-attainment intakes at an inherent and unfair disadvantage, because such intakes are less predisposed to meeting the attainment standards.

The report also addresses the thorny issue of baseline assessment, arguing that an effective baseline assessment, administered to pupils in their first half-term of Reception, is fundamental to creating a progress measure. It acknowledges that there are valid concerns around the introduction of a baseline assessment, but believes that these can be overcome.

The report ends with two recommendations:

1. Pupil progress is the fairest and most effective accountability measure, and should therefore be adopted by government as its principal headline accountability measure for primary schools.

2. To support pupil progress becoming the principal headline accountability measure for primary schools, the government should provide clear, defensible evidence that the baseline assessment which underpins it is valid, fair and reliable.

We hope that this report will prove useful in this highly-charged debate. Do let us know what you think.

As you know, we believe teachers are superheroes. There are so many skills that go into being a Primary school teacher that we can't even count them, but here are 10 we thought you might recognise!

Please feel free to tell us about other skills you'd like to see mentioned.

An Education Select Committee report on the examination system has rejected moves to a single national exam board or to single boards for each subject.

The Committee suggests that there should be a single national syllabus for each subject which would be accredited by the regulator, Ofqual, with every exam board able to set question papers against that syllabus.

Rod Bristow, President of ɫèAV UK said:

“This is a thoughtful and rounded report, which tackles a number of complex issues in a sensitive and balanced way.

“It is vital that we address the public perception that competition between awarding organisations leads to downward pressure on standards. ɫèAV is committed to being a partner in making the changes necessary to enable this. Nothing is more important than ensuring that the effort of pupils is rewarded with qualifications which everyone is confident represent the very best in educational standards, at home and abroad.

“Awarding organisations already work closely with higher education, learned societies and employers to ensure that specifications support progression. However, the “National Syllabus” approach could deepen this and is worthy of further discussion. We welcome the intention to ensure that incentives to innovation in assessment, exam administration and support for schools remain strong, since we believe there is much scope to build on the progress of the last decade in this area.

“A high quality and challenging curriculum needs to be accompanied by engaging and effective resources to bring them to life. Our endorsement procedures ensure we reward books which encourage broad and stretching teaching and learning. ɫèAV’s internal firewalls ensure that employees who have a responsibility for publishing have no knowledge of what will be on a given year’s exam paper. As the Report notes, ɫèAV is also currently considering approaches to contain the authoring activities of our senior examiners. We are in discussion with the regulator on this matter, and we will work with them to ensure public confidence in the system, and in ɫèAV, is assured. We note, too, the Committee’s recommendation on the treatment of other publishers’ resources on our website, and will reflect this.

“We agree with the Committee that change cannot be pursued in isolation to reforms of the accountability system, which needs revision to reward schools for achieving high expectations for all learners, and offering a rounded education.”

Following reports that Michael Gove wants to replace GCSEs with O-level style exams, we had this to say.

A ɫèAV spokesperson said:

“We look forward to seeing further details of the proposals discussed by the Secretary of State today.

“We have repeatedly stated our commitment to working with Government to build a resilient examinations system which upholds high standards and has the confidence of the public. This is in the best interests of the hundreds of thousands of pupils who sit examinations in the UK each year.

“It is right that the education system is challenged to reach for the standards achieved by our peers globally. We can and should be ambitious for all children and we support a system which delivers that.

“We would have serious reservations about any approach which sets lower expectations for some at the age of 14. A new approach needs careful consideration to ensure it encourages high aspirations and expectations across the board, and doesn’t lower our ambitions for some students.”

In a CBI/ɫèAV survey of 542 companies employing around 1.6 million people, 61% say school and college leavers don’t have enough self-management skills.

The number of employers who are dissatisfied with school and college leavers’ basic skills remains stuck at around a third – the same as a decade ago(1) – with 42% reporting that they have had to provide remedial training for school and college leavers.

The persistence of this finding suggests that there are structural issues within our schools that need to be addressed if we are to ensure every young person gets a good start in life. The CBI has recently launched a major project designed to address this issue.

The survey also finds that as the UK competes ever more for business and talent in global markets, employers are looking to up-skill their workforces. Over the next three to five years, employers expect to need more people with leadership and management skills (a balance of +67%) and other higher skills (+61%), whereas for lower-skilled workers, they expect to slightly cut numbers (-3%).

While half of employers (a balance of +51%) are confident that they will fill their low-skilled vacancies, they are not confident of meeting their need for higher-skilled employees (-15%).

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said:

“The UK’s growth will depend on developing a wider and deeper pool of skills so that our economy can prosper in the face of fierce international competition for business.

“There is nothing more important to the future economic success of our country, and the lives of young people, than education.

“The foundations for the development of higher-level skills and the essentials for working life, that employers require, are laid at school.

“With the right start at school our young people can go on to have successful and fulfilling careers and have a strong base from which to learn more at college, university, or in the workplace.

“But levels of educational attainment are rising fast in many leading and emerging economies, so in the UK we must ensure that our education and skills system can continue to compete at the cutting edge.”

Rod Bristow, UK President of ɫèAV said:

“The connection between education and the world of work is critically important. Employers and all of us working in education have a big task to address that connection properly. Despite improvements in the past decade, employers want to see an even sharper focus on literacy and numeracy, beginning at primary school. Literacy and numeracy are the basic building blocks that help young people learn other subjects, get on in life and find rewarding work.

“But it’s not just about literacy and numeracy. Even the best-performing nations say the number one issue in education is to better equip school leavers with the broader skills needed for working life, and we are no exception. Employers still find that some young people lack the initiative, problem-solving and communication skills to succeed at work.”

“But this survey should fuel optimism that the best and brightest firms are continuing to invest in education, work with schools and colleges and maintain their own investment in training.”

Importance of school performance underlined by more businesses building links with schools

Employers recognise that they have an important role to play helping students and schools understand what skills are needed for working life. More than a third have increased their engagement with schools in the past year (+39%), while just 7% have reduced it, giving a balance of +32%.

• 57% have links with secondary schools
• 56% with further education colleges
• But only 20% with primary schools

One of the most important roles which half of all employers already carry out is providing careers advice (51%), but it’s clear that more work needs to be done in this area, with 68% saying that the general quality of advice is still not good enough. More than 60% of respondents say they would like to play a greater role in delivering careers advice.

In other areas, more than two thirds of employers (70%) provide work experience to students and around a third of employees (29%) act as governors. The survey found that some of the barriers to stepping up business involvement include insufficient guidance and support on how to make work experience placements worthwhile (26%), and onerous health and safety requirements (22%).

When asked which areas of education they think primary schools should focus on, 61% of employers said numeracy, 58% writing, 45% reading, and 42% said communication skills. For secondary schools, employers say the main focus should be on developing broader skills for working life:

• Employability skills – 71%
• Literacy – 50%
• Numeracy - 45%

But, the survey finds that no one current qualification addresses the combination of literacy, numeracy and employability requirements effectively. While employers think that for numeracy, GCSE maths is the best qualification, they say that vocational qualifications best equip young people with the broader employability skills.

Big growth in employer interest in ‘learn-while-you-earn’ approach

One in five jobs (20%) requires graduate-level skills, particularly in professional services (70%). But most employers (63%) expect increases in tuition fees to change the market for graduate-level skills, with 30% expecting to receive fewer graduate applications in the future. As a result, more than a third of firms (38%) expect to expand their recruitment of school leavers and / or apprentices with A-levels to provide an alternative to graduate-level training. Among the largest employers, with more than 5,000 staff, this figure rises to 68%.

John Cridland said:

“With extra pressure on student budgets from changes to tuition fees, more employers are stepping in to offer a range of innovative ‘learn while you earn’ routes to higher-level skills.”

Employers have increased apprenticeship places and maintained their spending on training

Since the start of the Education & Skills survey five years ago, the number of businesses involved in apprenticeships has grown rapidly from 48% to 63% this year. More than half of employers (58%) say that they intend to expand their current apprenticeship programmes or plan to start providing apprenticeship places in the next three years. This is particularly encouraging in view of the end of government funding for programme-led apprenticeships and the need for all apprentices in the future to be sponsored by an employer.

Small and medium-sized companies are still a relatively untapped market for apprenticeships. While 89% of organisations with over 5,000 staff are providing apprenticeships in 2012, this figure falls to 22% for firms with under 50 employees.

In terms of action required to get more employers involved in apprenticeships, respondents highlighted the following:

• Qualification programmes that are more relevant to business needs – 46%
• Government support for firms to train more apprentices than they need – 37%
• Greater flexibility for employers to design bespoke frameworks – 36%
• More suitably qualified and motivated young people applying – 34%
• Reductions in bureaucracy – 28%, rising to 57% for larger firms

In November, the Government announced measures to reduce the amount of red tape around apprenticeships, but so far only 6% of employers say they have experienced a change.

In the face of challenging economic conditions, the vast majority of employers (81%) plan to maintain or increase their spending on training over the coming year, but there are major differences between sectors. A balance of +17% of manufacturers say they are planning to increase spending, while -36% of public sector employers plan reductions. Two thirds of employers (67%) report that they intend to seek more cost effective ways of delivering training in the next year.

John Cridland said:

“Even in the difficult economic climate, business leaders recognise the importance of training and skills to their success and are investing now for the future.

“It’s great news that apprenticeships are on the increase, but the system must be simplified to make it easier, especially for small and medium-sized firms to be involved. The Government has set out promising plans to cut red tape for apprenticeships, but we now we need to see urgent delivery on the ground.”

Businesses need strong STEM skills to compete for growth

Recruiting staff with strong science, technology engineering and maths (STEM) skills will help underpin the UK’ ability to compete and achieve growth in many major sectors like manufacturing, construction and engineering. People with STEM skills are recruited at every level from apprenticeship entry (43%), technicians (40%) and graduates (53%). But 42% of firms struggle to find the STEM talent they require.

Businesses are well aware of the need to take steps to grow the talent pool of STEM skills, with 64% taking some action to encourage young people to pursue STEM subjects. 42% of organisations provide high-quality work placements, 39% engage with schools to encourage pupils to study STEM subjects and 35% provide STEM apprenticeships. More than two-thirds of employers (68%) think the Government can help future shortages by better promoting science and maths in schools, especially post-16.

Languages will help open up new markets to UK companies

Operating effectively in a global economy relies on the right language skills, but the UK has the worst language proficiency in Europe, according to the Education & Employer Taskforce. An overwhelming 72% of businesses say they value foreign language skills, most importantly for building relations with overseas contacts (39%). The major European languages continue to be the most in demand, but language skills geared towards doing business in China and the Middle East feature prominently:

• German – 50%
• French – 49%
• Spanish – 37%
• Mandarin – 25%
• Polish 19%
• Arabic – 19%

John Cridland said:

“Rebalancing our economy will mean tapping into high-growth markets in places like Asia and Latin America, so companies will need people with the relevant language skills to do business in these countries.”

Notes on this story

(1)- 35% are dissatisfied with school and college leavers’ literacy skills and 30% with their levels or numeracy. These figures are broadly unchanged from 2003 when CBI data showed that 34% were unhappy with the basic skills of school leavers.

The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce. With offices across the UK as well as representation in Brussels, Washington, Beijing and Delhi the CBI communicates the British business voice around the world.