SCHOOLS across North Yorkshire are being given funds to make their signs clearer.

All 390 schools will receive between £100 and £400 to re-site internal signs or buy new ones.

Up to £50,000 is being released for the improvement project by the county council's education department.

The idea is to make all the signs more easily understood, in particular by people who suffer from dyslexia or who have other visual impairments.

The county council's executive member for education, Chris Metcalfe, said: "Simply replacing the old 'toilet' sign with the equivalent symbol can have a massive impact on people with dyslexia."

The county's education service started a widespread training programme earlier this year in response to the Disability Discrimination Act.

Among other things, teachers were trained how to survey their own schools to make them more easily accessible - and one of the main problems highlighted was badly placed signs or signs which were difficult to read.

Coun Metcalfe said: "Many of our signs were from a different era and didn't meet the needs of people with learning or visual difficulties.

"We now know better. Signs should be symbols where possible.

"Where it isn't, they should be in particular fonts, at the correct height, be tactile and of the appropriate contrasting colours.

"This investment will allow us to put this right and for a relatively small sum of money have a huge effect on the quality of people's lives."