Extra help is set to be offered to teachers and students in Liverpool after it emerged the city's children were ranked as some of the worst in the country for reading ability.
The city was ranked 150th out of 151 local authorities for the proportion of kids achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD), a measurement which tests primary aged children's abilities in maths and literacy as well as personal, social and emotional development.
It comes on the back of a decline in results in other areas of education in the city, including plummeting GCSE results.
The council has now commissioned extra reading and phonics support for up to 100 of the 120 primary schools in Liverpool.
Ruth Miskin Literacy will deliver the programme to schools, with regular monitoring of its success.
The council's cabinet member for education Barbara Murray said she had met with Ms Miskin and said her programme, which would cost £920,000 if it runs for the full three years, was "perfect" for tackling issues with reading in Liverpool.
Councillor Murray said: "I can't stress enough how important reading is for the city for improving standards and outcomes for our children
"Reading is one of our five key priorities and ideally this will start in September this year."
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The council's cabinet has approved an initial trance of £400,000 to start the programme, while the rest would have to be approved at a later date.
It will focus on two goals. The first will be to increase the proportion of children passing the phonics screening check and the second is to increase the proportion of students reaching the expected standard in reading and writing at Key Stage 2.
