A SPECIAL play will is being used to educate schoolchildren in Oxfordshire about healthy online relationships.

By June 6, more than 3,000 children in the county will have been given the opportunity to see the performance.

The 40-minute production is being staged in Oxfordshire and elsewhere across the Thames Valley thanks to a £51,000 grant from police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfeld.

It will be targeted at children aged between nine and 11 at 60 primary schools.

Performances at the schools got under way earlier this month and were mentioned in a report put before the police and crime panel, which met in Aylesbury on Friday.

The play forms part of Oxfordshire County Council’s anti-bullying strategy and aims to give children a better understanding of online relationships.

Youngsters who watch the play will learn about what constitutes a 'healthy relationship'.

They will be given guidance around the pressure to conform with peers on the web.

The play also provides details about the risks present when sharing inappropriate images online - as well as online sexual exploitation, cyber bullying and other forms of abusive behaviour.

Pupils learn about the impact of online abusive behaviour and the way in which people can be coerced and controlled over the internet, as well as strategies for dealing with such behaviour.

Those who watch the play will be told where they can seek further information and support on the subject matter of the performance.

For more information about online child abuse see bit.ly/2ppCeAp