Planning and organisation of events
Many of the WRE and CEG activities provided by schools take the form of special events such as industry days, hands-on workshops, employer-led sessions and visits. Careers Wales provide extensive support and advice for WRE events and will be an invaluable resource for managing these events smoothly.

By their very nature these events need meticulous planning and organisation in order to ensure that learning outcomes are met, that the 'adults other than teachers' (AOTs) go away with a professional impression of the school and a willingness to participate in similar events in the future. Effective planning and organisation will make a crucial difference to the success of any work-related event and it is often the small, overlooked factors that can be vital. The following are reminders of the main organisational areas:

Documentation
Clear documentation goes hand-in-hand with effective planning and organisation of any careers or work-related activity. You need to be able to demonstrate that documentation and systems have been put in place which not only support the current organisers but which would be reasonably clear to any member of staff. Thus if a new colleague was to take over the running of an event or work experience the systems and paperwork would be in place to enable a smooth transition into the role. The most professional way to do this is to have a procedures manual or handbook for the key events.

There could be a work experience organisers' handbook and one for each significant event using a generic format and many of the same ideas and content. Such a manual might contain:

• A planning and action checklist in chronological order, ticked and dated as work progresses;
• A proposal or overall description of the event or activity including the rationale and learning outcomes;
• The programme for the day;
• Minutes of planning meetings;
• Copies of letters sent and sample letters for different purposes;
• Contact lists for AOTs;
• Information for AOTs such as the school map, their notes for the day, a description of the school and of the event/activity;
• Staff lists of who will be freed on the day;
• Students lists;
• Resource and equipment lists;
• Evaluation forms;
• Evaluation report from the previous year with action points;
• Information on how students record learning from the activity.