Local schools visit Peacehaven Wastewater Treatment Works
Our guided Beyond the Drain school tours round Peacehaven Wastewater Treatment Works is inclusive and educational and takes account of special educational needs. It offers young people a unique chance to learn about what happens to our wastewater and how it is treated.
“Our free Beyond the Drain Tour is an inclusive educational tour that takes account of special educational needs (SEN).
“The tour gives students from key stages 2 and 3 – as well as their teachers – a great insight into what happens to our wastewater and how it’s treated at our Peacehaven site. Special care is taken to make sure all the children in a class can have their needs met during the tour.
“A few days before the tour takes place, we visit the school and deliver our ‘Wastewater Quest’ assembly. This is a virtual tour, presented as a fun and engaging gameshow where teams compete for points. This helps with key vocabulary and context, so everyone knows what to expect when they’re on site. It’s also a great opportunity to talk through with teachers any additional or special educational needs for individuals, to have a tour that’s inclusive and accessible for everyone.
“From visiting the site to taking part in a fun ‘slow the flow’ workshop, there are lots of interesting things to see and hear about. It’s great to give young people a unique chance to learn about where all the wastewater goes after they take a shower or flush the loo. There’s a tour of the operational site in action, with everyone wearing PPE to keep them safe – this includes a safety helmet with a built-in microphone, making sure visitors can listen and ask questions.
“The workshop is another highlight of the tour, giving pupils the chance to carry out a fun investigation into the permeability of different types of driveway surfaces. Seeing how these surfaces manage water run-off develops an understanding of how they can help slow the flow of rainwater entering the sewer network. There are always good questions too, and our on-site colleagues are there to answer them from their own personal experience.
“It’s really inspiring to see how the young people get so engaged in what we’re talking about. They might not have thought about what happens when you flush the toilet, and once they understand that we all have a role to play in only flushing away the three ps – pee, poo and paper – they get really motivated by the whole visit and how they can make a difference.”
Kim Twine and Daniel Rodrigues
Education Officer and Community Engagement Officer