BBC News has covered Crossing the Line, our schools programme using live theatre to help young people recognise the early signs of grooming and child criminal exploitation.
It’s national coverage for a piece of work that started with a single commission from the local authority, and it puts the message in front of exactly the audience it needs to reach: parents, teachers and safeguarding leads who may not know the warning signs.
Crossing the Line pairs a twenty-minute monologue with a film, a facilitated discussion and follow-up classroom resources. The performance follows a young person being groomed into criminal activity – handled honestly, but pitched for Year 5 and Year 6.
The programme is funded by the National County Lines Coordination Centre and offered to schools free of charge. It has now reached more than 13,000 pupils across more than 200 schools.
Evaluation from previous tours found awareness of grooming rose by 60% among pupils who took part, and understanding of peer pressure by 33%.
If you work in a school and want to talk about bringing Crossing the Line to your pupils, get in touch.
Read the article on BBC News → https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c203r5ev710o
