Ewden Water Treatment Works

We're delighted to offer visits to our clean water treatment works at Ewden, Stocksbridge, North Sheffield.

Water ripples

Key Stage 2

Our education centre is run by experienced staff. We offer a programme of free sessions for primary schools and additional sessions for secondary schools, universities and community groups.

There are two programmes currently available:

Half day visit to Ewden Water Treatment Works

A half day visit to Ewden water treatment works will include:

  1. Introduction to the water cycle and where our water comes from.
  2. The 'Baddies in the Works' presentation - how we remove the 'baddies' from the water we treat. (approx. 10 minutes)
  3. Guided tour of the site with headsets (approx. 40 minutes)
  4. Activities - group work around six interactive sessions (approx. 40 minutes)
  5. Water savers and wasters. Which one are you? (approx. 10 minutes)
  6. Plenary session. What have we learnt? (approx. 10 minutes)

Sessions are 9.45am – 11.45am or 12.45pm – 2.45pm Tuesday to Thursday.

Please note that we can only take one class per session.

Check availability and book a visit

Full day visit to Ewden Water Treatment Works with our WaterAid or FOG activity programme

A full day visit to Ewden Water Treatment Works with our WaterAid or FOG activity programme will include:

1. Introduction to the water cycle and where our water comes from.
2. The 'Baddies in the Works' presentation - how we remove the 'baddies' from the water we treat. (approx. 10 minutes)
3. A guided tour of the site with headsets (approx. 40 minutes)
4. Activities - group work around six interactive sessions (approx. 40 minutes)
5. Water savers and wasters. Which one are you? (approx. 10 minutes)
6. Plenary session. What have we learnt? (approx. 10 minutes)

Our afternoon activities focus on either:

The afternoon focuses on the difference between communities in Ethiopia and the Yorkshire region. We will explore how villagers access their water supplies and the benefits of working with WaterAid to bring clean water and sanitation to those less fortunate. The sessions will comprise of activities from our WaterAid programme

Or

How Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) can block waste-water pipes and sewers.  We will explore the consequences of these blockages through role play, presentations and simple experiments.  This raises awareness of the items we should, and should not, dispose of down the sink and toilet.  Students will learn to translate this knowledge into positive action to improve their local communities, their country and the planet.

Sessions are 9.45am to 2.45pm Tuesday to Thursday.

Please note that we can only take one class per session.

You don't need to decide straight away which topic you will choose for the afternoon, our education advisers will discuss this with you as your planned visit approaches.

Check availability and book a visit

Our programmes have been developed with the help of school teachers and cover key elements and targets of the national curriculum at Key Stage 2. These include:

  • Geography - human and physical geography, water cycle, distribution of natural resources including water, locational knowledge of coasts and rivers, topographical features.
  • Science (Year 4) - states of matter, evaporation and condensation in the water cycle, living things and their habitats, human impact on the environment.
  • Science (Year 5) - properties and changes of materials, states of matter, evaporation.
  • English - supporting writing, vocabulary and composition.
  • Maths - supporting number addition/subtraction, measurement and statistics.
  • PSHE - Climate change - Helping students to understand how small changes they make at home, or in school, can make a big difference to our planet and help to reduce everyone's impact on the environment.
  • Eco Schools - If you are already an accredited Eco-School or on your way to becoming one, water is of course one of the 10 topics you can choose from within your school’s project!

    What better way of giving your students an understanding of the importance of water than planning a visit with us to talk about ‘all things water’.

    We cover many of the requirements of the Eco-Schools Green Flag questions / requirements for Eco School Status, such as helping your students understand how to save water and not waste water, as well as topics such as what should or should not go down the toilets, helping them to understand how small changes at home or in school can really help our planet.

    For more information about this, visit Eco Schools website at: https://www.eco-schools.org.uk/ten-topics/water/

Key Stage 3 & 4

Our KS3 programme has been developed with the help of school teachers, and links to the national curriculum, in particular for Geography & Science subjects.  These topic areas include:

Science - states of matter, some climate change issues such as discussions about carbon/peat bogs, and how global warming affects water as a resource.

Geography - The water cycle, the weather, and some issues around climate change.

 

 

Our GCSE KS4 programme has been developed with the help of school teachers and links to KS4 curriculum requirements, in particular for GCSE Geography and GCSE Science (Combined) as well as the separate Science pathways.  Exam board specifications covered include AQA, OCR, Pearson / Edexcel and WJEC.

In GCSE Science, the relevant topic areas included are potable water, water filtration, wastewater treatment, as well as some discussion about the impact of climate change and the environmental issues within the water industry.

In GCSE Geography, the relevant topics included are water management and the demand for water, water supply in the UK, water scarcity, how we use reservoirs and water transfer as well as some discussion about the challenges / effects of climate change and extreme weather within the water industry.

 

Linking to Gatsby Benchmarks

During your visit, if requested, we can provide a short careers talk to include details about careers within Yorkshire Water as well as information about our apprenticeship programme and graduate scheme.

Half-day session at Ewden Water Treatment Works

A half-day session at Ewden Water Treatment Works will include:

  1. Safety introduction – including risk assessment, signage and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). (approx. 5 minutes)
  2. Revision of the water cycle and an introduction into where our water comes from. (approx. 15 minutes)
  3. Water treatment presentation - how we treat our water to provide clean drinking water, covers filtration and sterilisation. (approx. 20 minutes)
  4. Guided tour of the site with audio headsets (approx. 30 minutes)
  5. Wastewater presentation – what happens to your wastewater? (approx. 15 minutes)
  6. Activities - group work around two interactive sessions (approx. 20 minutes)
  7. Water savers and wasters. Which one are you? (approx. 5 minutes)
  8. Plenary and feedback session. (approx. 5 minutes)

A visit to Yorkshire Water supports the following Gatsby Benchmarks:

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers  The requirements of the national curriculum are embedded into our education centre visits. Students can visit our water treatment centre at Ewden to see these processes in action and observe, first-hand, a working treatment plant. See the role of the Process Engineers and take part in a discussion regarding other roles within Yorkshire Water.
5. Encounters with employers and employees  Your students will be visiting a place of work and will see for themselves what is involved in running a water treatment works. They will see how we use I.T. to deliver a service 24/7 and how technology supports the delivery of a quality product. They will see different job roles available in the workplace.
6. Experiences of workplaces Students  are offered the opportunity to visit our treatment works with the first-hand experience of a working environment. There is a safety discussion, risk assessment, PPE and workplace behaviour. Students will wear the appropriate PPE and tour the working site.

 

Sessions are 9.45am – 11.45am or 12.45pm – 2.45pm Tuesday to Thursday.

Please note that we can only take one class per session, and maximum group size is 35.

Check availability and book a visit

Key Stage 5, Higher Education, Further Education and Adult visitors

Our education centres are run by experienced Education Advisers. Whilst our main offering is a programme of sessions for Key Stage 2, we are able to offer half day sessions for colleges, universities and community groups. All visits are by pre-arrangement and are for group bookings only. A minimum of 20 participants is preferred.

Half day visit to Ewden Water Treatment Works

A half day visit to Ewden Water Treatment Works will include:

  1. Safety introduction – including risk assessment, signage and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). (approx. 5 minutes)
  2. Overview of Yorkshire Water, including ‘Source to Sea’ abstraction and collection of water from the environment, water treatment, waste water treatment and our commitment to renewable energy. (approx. 30 minutes)
  3. Water treatment presentation - how we treat our water to provide clean drinking water; covers filtration and sterilisation. (approx. 30 minutes)
  4. Guided tour of the site with audio headsets. (approx. 30 minutes)
  5. Plenary and feedback session. (approx. 10 minutes)

Sessions are 9.45am – 11.45am or 12.45pm – 2.45pm Tuesday to Thursday.

Please note that we can only take one group per session, and maximum group size is 30.

Check availability and book a visit

Joining us for lunch?

Take on our Waste Warriors Challenge!

If you are visiting us for the full day, we invite your group to take part in our Waste Warriors challenge. We'd like to challenge you to bring a lunch that uses as little amount of waste as possible so students are exposed to sustainable food choices and recycling. 

Read our Waste Warriors top tips

Ice cream

Meet the team 

Senior Education Adviser

Lia

Having worked in education for over 17 years and as a teacher for 8 of those, I am truly passionate about education.  I thoroughly enjoy working with children (and adults for that matter) and teaching them about things that are important, and our beautiful environment is one of those. 

Water plays such a vital role in our everyday lives and is a resource we all need to be responsible for.  I am proud to be part of a team of people who share the same passions.  At Yorkshire Water we put people at the heart of everything we do, and our education centre at Ewden Water Treatment Works is no exception.  Our team cannot wait to meet you and take you on a guided tour of our site, or we can meet with you on our outreach programmes too.  We look forward to showing you the significant role Yorkshire Water plays and help to educate you more about how we can all work together to protect our beautiful Yorkshire environment.

Education Adviser

Ruth

I started work with Yorkshire Water in February 2023.  Prior to this I was a teacher in a secondary school for over 23 years.  I am excited to be part of the education team here at Ewden.

Yorkshire Water supply over 1.3billion litres of tap water each day and it is vital that we all become aware of what a precious commodity it is and how lucky we are to have access to clean water so readily.  We all need to educate ourselves and our families of how we can conserve and protect our water supply for present and future generations, and here at Ewden that is what we aim to do!

In my spare time, I am a keen walker and I am thankful that I live in such a beautiful county with access to amazing countryside.

Education Adviser

Ann

Anne

I joined the Team in November 2017 after a teaching career of 35 years. For me, my role as an Education Adviser combines two things I enjoy, working with young people, and conservation and the environment. In my free time I enjoy walking my dog, cycling and running and growing my own vegetables (using water saved in water butts of course!).

Location & Risk Assessments

The address of our Education Centre is Ewden Water Treatment Works, 400 Main Road, Wharncliffe Side, Sheffield, S35 0BN.  

Prior to your visit, we will send you a copy of our risk assessment. 

Please note that you will be visiting an operational site and on very rare occasions there may be circumstances that cause temporary suspension of visits. This would be very unusual and if we became aware of any instances, you would be informed at the earliest opportunity.

Our primary school visits are usually free of charge, but please be aware that should you cancel with less than 3 weeks notice, we regret that we will have to charge a cancellation fee of £100 per session.

We do not charge cancellation fees in circumstances where there are bad weather conditions which would either (a) prevent you getting to our sites or (b) cause health & safety concerns during your visit. Should cancellations occur due to bad weather conditions, or for operational reasons out of our control, we will work with you to rebook your session at a mutually convenient time.

Should your group have any specific needs in terms of access, please let us know as soon as possible.

 

Ewden Water Treatment Works risk assessment form

Access at Ewden Water Treatment Works

We aim to accommodate children of all educational and special needs, however as these buildings are all working sites, teachers are advised to read the following information before making a booking.

The education room is in the entrance to the treatment works and is easily accessible.The tour of the works includes a number of staircases and is not suitable for wheelchair access. Our education advisers are well prepared to adapt language and activities depending on the reading age and educational needs of the students in the tour group. Students with special educational needs are welcome. The education team will consult with you regarding the needs of your proposed group and make recommendations should there any concerns which would compromise health and safety on site. The visit is recommended for Year 4 upwards.

Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge 

Our education centre at Ewden has been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge.

This is a national accreditation, recognising the essential elements of provision - learning and safety. We achieved the LOtC Quality Badge by demonstrating that we offer good quality teaching and learning experiences and that we manage risk effectively.

This is an important achievement as it provides an assurance that we:

  1. Offer what we say we offer
  2. Take account of the needs of our users
  3. Place emphasis on 'learning/skills outcomes'
  4. Operate in a healthy and safe environment

Our Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge Certificate for Ewden

Book a visit to Ewden Water Treatment Works 

To avoid disappointment we recommend you book early!

Once a booking has been made, we'll offer you a resource pack and send you a pre-prepared risk assessment.

Check availability and book a visit

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