Civil engineers plan, design, build and manage the construction and upkeep of buildings and other structures such as roads, bridges, dams, water and sewerage systems, railways, airports and harbours.
Civil engineers are:
Creative when they plan and design buildings and structures,
Collaborative when they work together with other professionals to complete projects.
Resilient because their designs can be tricky to get right the first time.
Includes statements from Development Matters (birth to age five) and the relevant ELGs.
Play, Be, C Units provide enabling environments with teaching and support from adults. Reflecting on the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, children will have opportunity to learn and develop by:
- Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
- Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements.
- Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework: accessed November 2024. Available under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Our suggested book for this Unit is Elephant Island by Leo Timmers.
You can find out more about the book at the publisher’s page, and the Google Books page will link you to retailers and local libraries.
We have designed these STEM-focused questions to use alongside the questioning you would usually use when reading a story.
These adult led activities and provocations will support the introduction of the civil engineer career to the children in your setting.
This is a link to a related STEM at home activity. This could be sent out for families to try at home, or run in school at a family session.
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Sonia Singh
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Sonia Singh2020-07-06 13:54:152025-03-12 15:26:20Building BridgesThis is a link to the instructions for a related family STEM story time activity. This is an opportunity to introduce STEM ideas and activities to parents, carers and other family members in a relaxed and enjoyable way.
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Melanie Horan2025-03-12 12:38:112025-03-12 15:48:57Civil engineer family story time
Civil engineers plan, design, build and manage construction infrastructure projects at all stages from planning through to maintenance and demolition. They may work on a construction site, outdoors in all weathers or in an office.
Before a project begins, a civil engineer needs to consult and plan with clients, analyse data using computer modelling software and create blue prints plans using computer models and drawings aided design (CAD). Civil engineers also estimate project costs, time and labour and prepare risk and environmental impact assessments. Civil engineers also need to consider the sustainability of each project at all stages and challenge themselves and others to make the best of our resources.
During a project a civil engineer will monitor progress at each stage, report to their clients and relevant government agencies and make sure designs and sites follow health and safety rules.
Civil engineers need to be creative with their design skills and knowledge of engineering science and technology as well as their knowledge of building and construction.
As well as collaborating with clients, civil engineers collaborate with construction companies, local authorities, rail and utility companies and other clients. They also work in multi discipline teams.
Civil engineers need to be resilient to meet the needs of their clients, providing a cost-effective solution is not enough for a project to succeed. Resilience is required to ensure that designs are safe, comply with rules and regulations and to consider the environmental impacts of their designs. Also it is rare that any projects goes without a hitch; client changes, adverse weather, material supply to name a few things that regularly cause the need to react.
NUSTEM would like to thank Paula McMahon (pictured) for her support in the development of this resource.
You can download our civil engineer poster to use in your setting.
