Key Stage 2
What we can offer will depending on our availability, but ideally, we would come into school for the full day. We are unlikely to have availability for ‘assembly only’ in-person requests unless it is for a WaterAid talk. We may be able to offer a virtual assembly, so please do contact us with your requirements.
For a full day visit, we will start with a 30 minute whole school assembly increasing awareness of the work done by WaterAid and can follow this with up to four one-hour workshops.
In a workshop, individual classes of up to 35 students will find out more about your chosen topic, supported by two of our experienced education advisers. An hour is the ideal length of time to deliver the content at a relaxed pace, but we are happy to work with your school timetable. We can offer double workshops across a morning or afternoon session, but you may find in this case a visit to one of our centres will be more informative. Please specify which workshop(s) you are interested in when booking.
Facilities required for our workshops: Interactive whiteboard/projector, pens, paper, water or hand washing facilities (can be outside the classroom).
Our workshops
Water Aid
By the end of this workshop, students will know about the importance of having access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. They will have learned about alternative methods of sewage disposal and had the opportunity to make a toilet in their classroom! Comparisons can be drawn between the life of a child in the UK and the lives of children in rural Ethiopia.
They will know about the importance of handwashing and will have had the chance to practice good handwashing techniques. They will be encouraged to think about ways in which they can increase their own responsibility when it comes to their personal water use and encourage behaviour change within their own families and communities as a result.
The Water Cycle
During this workshop we will cover the water cycle and changing state. Students will learn about the work that Yorkshire Water does; make a water cycle in a bag and be encouraged to think about ways in which they can be responsible with their own water usage and can be agents of change.
Making water safe to drink
In this workshop, we demonstrate the stages that raw water has to go through in order to make it safe to drink. Students will see how flocculation works, observe flotation through ‘raisin races’, and have a go at filtering a dirty water sample. They will consider the cost of water and discuss water conservation, enabling conversations to take place around the impact of energy and water use. It would be helpful if students were familiar with the water cycle before the workshop.
Can we flush it?
This workshop addresses the wastewater treatment process (from the sewers to the sea). Students will learn about things that should be flushed down the toilet (the ‘3Ps’!); will think about the effects of putting things into the sewers that should not be there; and will investigate what happens when we flush wipes. Students will sort common waste items and discuss the effect of plastics on the environment and animals. It would be helpful if students were familiar with the water cycle before the workshop.
Key stage 3 & 4
We're pleased to be able to offer careers talks for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 students. These will be delivered virtually.
These sessions consist of a live introduction from one of our Education Team, a presentation which includes 'What Yorkshire Water does', examples of roles in all areas of the business, routes into the company and a sample of our apprenticeship and graduate roles. The session concludes with a Live Q&A.
Talks can be delivered during Form Time, Personal Development lessons, in place of Assemblies or within subject specific lessons. We can deliver to multiple classes at the same time.
If you would like to book a session, please complete a booking form using the button at the bottom of this page.
Living with Water
These sessions are available to schools in the following postcodes:
HU2, HU3, HU4, HU5, HU6, HU7, HU8, HU9, HU10, HU13, HU16
Our Education & Living with Water teams are able to come into your school and deliver an assembly or classroom based workshops.
Assembly
The assembly presentation is approximately 45 minutes and is an interactive presentation that emphasises how components of the water cycle can result in areas of flooding. The problems caused by flooding are highlighted, discussed and the benefits of having a family flood plan put forward. The assembly includes a recap of the water cycle, a description and explanation of flooding, a role play activity and a video which demonstrates how the Living with Water partners are joining forces to put in place flooding resilience and how the community can be involved in preparing and planning for flooding events.
Classroom workshops (Key Stage 2)
This one-hour workshop provides a series of activities that allow students to consider the implications of flooding in their local area. These are four planned activities; a demonstration of our SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Solutions) model, an investigation looking at the rate of water flow through different materials, a discussion about the importance of having a family flood plan and a decision-making activity based on a planned flooding kit.
All students have access to four practical activities in rotation to gain an appreciation of how the water cycle and planning for a flooding event are important considerations in areas susceptible to flooding.
We can deliver up to 4 one-hour workshops during the school day.
To request an outreach session, please check on the availability listing for Tophill Low Nature Reserve, and then request one of the dates that are listed as free on that page.
Book a school visit
You can request an outreach session using our online form. Please provide as many date options as possible to help us fit you in.
Get ready for your visit
You can make sure you've got everything in order before we come to see you with our handy risk assessment.
