Transform your next INSET day, staff meeting or CPD session with The Caretaker’s Key, a fully printable escape room created especially for teachers. This medium-difficulty team-building activity places staff in a humorous, high-pressure scenario: the caretaker has accidentally locked everyone inside the school, and the only way to escape is to work together, solve a series of interconnected puzzles and uncover the final code before time runs out.

Designed for teams of 4-5 players, this paper-based escape room requires no specialist equipment… just a printer, scissors, envelopes, a timer and plenty of teamwork. Whether you’re planning a September INSET, a staff wellbeing event, an end-of-term celebration or simply looking for a memorable CPD activity, this escape room encourages collaboration, communication and problem-solving while bringing plenty of laughter to the staffroom.

What’s Included
• Complete escape room storyline and facilitator instructions
• 7 sequential puzzles leading to a final solution
• Full answer key and solutions
• Printable cipher wheel, seating plans, visual clues and supporting resources
• Staffroom-themed humour and recognisable school references
• Clear envelope setup guide for an organised, spoiler-free experience

Perfect For
• INSET days
• CPD sessions
• Staff meetings
• Teacher team-building events
• Department meetings
• Beginning or end-of-term celebrations
• School wellbeing events

Why You’ll Love It
• Fully printable with no technology required
• Medium level of challenge, ideal for collaborative teams
• Designed specifically for teachers, featuring school-based humour and familiar situations
• Encourages communication, logical thinking and teamwork
• Straightforward to prepare and easy to run with multiple groups

Important Information
This escape room has been carefully designed as a sequenced puzzle experience. Before running the activity, we strongly recommend reading through the facilitator guide while following the answer key. Doing so will familiarise you with the puzzle flow and ensure you’re ready to offer hints if teams become stuck.

Although the resource is straightforward to organise, running it without first reviewing the puzzles may make it more difficult to support participants during the activity.

This resource was created by a UK teacher, for teachers.