PRIMARY schools are benefiting from new phonics products and training to help pupils with their reading.

Lincolnshire County Council is one of only seven authorities which has promoted the best take up of the training on phonics package with more than one in three schools already signed up for products. Phonics teaches children how to recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes.

It identifies the sounds that different combinations of letters make such as "sh" or "oo" and blends these sounds together to make a word. Children can then use this knowledge to 'de-code' new words that they see, the first important step in learning how to read.

Councillor Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for Children's Services, said: "Research shows that when phonics is taught it helps young children to read and is particularly helpful for those aged five to seven."