A Rochdale production company is touring a theatre programme designed to help primary school pupils recognise the signs of grooming and child criminal exploitation.
Breaking Barriers, based in Rochdale, is delivering its Crossing the Line programme to pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 through a combination of live theatre and guided discussion.
The programme is funded by the National County Lines Coordination Centre and is being offered to schools free of charge. It has already reached more than 13,000 pupils across the UK.
The project centres on a 20 minute monologue which follows a young person who has been groomed into criminal activity. It is designed to help pupils understand the risks of exploitation in an age appropriate way.
The performance forms part of a wider session which also includes a film before the performance, a facilitated discussion and follow up classroom activities to help schools continue conversations around grooming, peer pressure and healthy relationships.
Evaluation of the programme found awareness of grooming increased by 60 per cent among pupils who took part, while understanding of peer pressure increased by 33 per cent.
The spring 2026 tour will deliver 19 sessions across 14 schools in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and Derby. More than 200 schools have taken part in the programme since it began.
Parvez Qadir, artistic director at Breaking Barriers, said, “We are incredibly proud to see Crossing the Line expand into Yorkshire. The project was created in direct response to the growing issue of child criminal exploitation and the grooming of young people into criminal activity, something affecting communities across the country.
“Having already engaged over 200 schools, we have seen how powerful honest, creative storytelling can be in helping young people recognise the signs of exploitation and understand where to seek advice and support.”
Superintendent Dan Mitchell from the National County Lines Coordination Centre said, “Education and prevention are vital to tackling the threat posed by exploitative County Lines drug networks. Breaking Barriers’ approach brings together powerful, engaging theatre with tailored support for educators and school safeguarding staff, followed by workshops that help children consolidate and apply their learning.
“The theatre production engages pupils in an age appropriate way, without diluting the seriousness of the message, and the accompanying workshops and activity resources provide real depth and long term value.
“The NCLCC is proud to support this initiative, and we look forward to hearing the feedback from the schools taking part.”
Tracy Heaton, headteacher at Marus Bridge Primary School in Wigan, said pupils had benefited from taking part in the programme.
She said, “Our pupils were so very lucky to take part in Crossing the Line last year and got so much from watching the monologue, then taking part in a collective workshop and discussion session with the Breaking Barriers team and having the chance to ask questions in a safe environment.
“Knowing how to access support is vital to their safety. A very positive, practical and constructive way to teach our young people how to keep themselves safe in the community, and they are back with us again this year to work with all of our Year 5 and 6 children.”
Breaking Barriers creates theatre, immersive experiences and film focused on social issues affecting young people, including exploitation, domestic abuse, hate crime and youth violence.
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