Newsletter Summer 2025

Thanks to a grant awarded by the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s SWAP Fund, 2engage delivered the award-winning theatre-based session The Snap Trap to Year 5/6 children and their parents in 12 primary schools across Cheshire East, Warrington and Halton.

Designed as an early intervention initiative, ‘The Snap Trap’ assists children and parents in recognising the risks associated with online activity like social media, gaming, and the use of smart devices.

‘The Snap Trap’ uses role-play and facilitator-led discussions to bring digital safety to life. Pupils are encouraged to think critically, explore alternate outcomes for the central characters, and have open conversations about online behaviour, boundaries, cyberbullying, and seeking support when needed.

The performance received high praise from pupils, teachers and parents alike. One teacher said:

“The performance was excellent! From the first scene to the last, the children (and the parents and teachers) were thoroughly engaged with the stories of the two young people. Following the performance, we had a number of children come forward and speak to a trusted adult about an online concern, which is testament to the effectiveness of the session. I would highly recommend 2engage to any school wishing to strengthen their online safety education programme.”

Dan Price (Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner) came along to Halton Primary School in Runcorn to watch the performance, alongside Cheshire’s Mix 56 radio station who interviewed 2engage, as well as pupils and parents.

You can listen to the full interview here: https://mix56.co.uk/the-snap-trap/

On behalf of Cheshire West Voluntary Action, 2engage delivered a dynamic workshop at the University of Chester, bringing together a diverse group of undergraduate students to explore the topic of volunteering.

The session was designed to give students a platform to share their thoughts, experiences, and attitudes towards volunteering. Insights gathered will help shape more inclusive and accessible volunteering opportunities for young people across the region.

This summer, our e-safety and cyberbullying session ‘The Snap Trap’ reached more than 1900 pupils from 54 schools across Cheshire West and Chester.

We were delighted to see so many parents attending the sessions alongside their children. The session supports parents in setting boundaries, understanding online risks, and encouraging safer digital choices at home. One parent said:

“I was moved to tears watching this session, and the Year 6s engage and begin to understand the realities of dangers they’re exposed to online. This show was so incredibly well done – very relatable to age group watching, very powerful and engaging. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is that this message reaches all children.

I would love to hear that ‘The Snap Trap’ can be accessed and performed in every single school. Our children are too important, and the stakes are too high, to not do everything we can to educate on this matter.”

100% of teachers surveyed said that they would recommend ‘The Snap Trap’ to a colleague or another establishment.

Thank you to the Cheshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership for supporting this project.

Supported by Higher Horizons, 2engage hosted a performing arts summer school in collaboration with Pathways Saturday School.

Children aged 11-16 from across Cheshire West and Chester joined us for three days of music, dance, drama and games.

2engage are grateful to have received a Youth Opportunities grant from Cheshire West and Chester Council which enabled the delivery of our Risking It All session in seven secondary schools across Cheshire West and Chester this summer.

The session uses real-life stories from local young people to delve into important themes within the RSHE curriculum, such as sexual and criminal exploitation, risk-taking behaviour, substance misuse, and vaping. The sessions received fantastic feedback with 100% of teachers saying that they would recommend the session to colleagues, peers and other establishments.

One teacher said:

“It was brilliant performance which engaged our students throughout the session. The topics were relevant to the year group and encouraged the students to reflect on the exploitation witnessed. This performance is something that I feel every school needs to see, it’s invaluable!”