CHILDREN as young as six will be given advice on how to stay safe online and avoid grooming thanks to a play that will be performed in Bradford’s schools.

As part of efforts to reduce the risk of Bradford children becoming victims of child sexual exploitation, a theatre company has been touring the district’s schools to give age appropriate performances highlighting the sensitive issue.

Thousands of local children have already seen productions targeted at secondary school aged pupils and 10-11 year olds.

Now a new production is being prepared that will aim to give children as young as six the information they need to avoid predators.

One police officer responsible for safeguarding in the district said it was important the message was delivered to children at a young age, as it could sometimes be “too late” by the time children are in secondary school.

GW Theatre Company delivers the productions, which started with Somebody’s Sister, Somebody’s Daughter - a play about sexual exploitation and street grooming aged at young people aged 14 and over.

The play has been performed to over 4,000 young people in Bradford. Over 30 young people made disclosures or sought help and professional support after seeing the play.

It was followed by Mr Shapeshifter - which toured local primary schools and was performed to children aged 9 to 11.

It has reached over 4,000 children, and feedback after the performances found 89 per cent of them said they were more aware of how to keep safe online after seeing the play.

Today an animation based on the play will premier at the National Science and Media Museum. Thanks to £36,000 funding from the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s office, the performance will now be able to reach a much wider audience.

The story tells the tale of children who are befriended online by Mister Shapeshifter, who offers them friendship, but is really trying to steal their childhood.

It focuses on the emerging problem of online grooming.

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield is a key speaker at the event, and said: “This is a really important project which I am sure will make a difference to the lives of some vulnerable children.

“Sadly, we know that around two thirds of victims of child sexual abuse do not feel able to tell anyone what is happening, so resources like Mister Shapeshifter can really help to create conditions in which children feel secure enough to tell someone they trust if they are being abused.”

Later this year the group will start touring a new play aimed at children as young as six titled Kid Power.

The productions have been discussed by Bradford Council’s various Area Committees in recent weeks, with Councillors praising the way they are able to communicate hugely sensitive issues to young children.

Superintendent Alisa Newman told members of the Shipley Area Committee on Wednesday: “We have to look at how to engage with primary school children. Unfortunately by high school it can be too late. It has to start much earlier. We have seen a shift in the age profile of CSE victims moving down.”

Dave Jones Creative Director of the GW Theatre Company, said: “Kid Power will be a completely new. The age at which kids have access to phones and the internet is always coming down, and having an online life is normal for quite a lot of kids.Obviously not everyone online is bad, but it is important kids know how to keep safe. We want to give kids confidence to be safe and to recognise things that might make them concerned.

“When kids get to the end of primary school that pressure to have a social media presence becomes more intense. We want to give children the power to make sense of things. We want children to be able to recognise when something is wrong, but also to recognise what is trustworthy behaviour.

“Where kids are vulnerable we need to skill them up and give them confidence. That’s what all this work is about.

“The issue is something that makes even adults feel uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something we can tackle in an appropriate way.

He said one of the main messages of Mr Shapeshifter was that if children feel something is wrong, they need to let trusted adults know.

Mr Jones also praised the work West Yorkshire was doing to try and prevent grooming. He said: “West Yorkshire is really forward in doing something by helping fund this work.”