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Teacher Training Day Bingo for INSET and Staff Development

A light staff icebreaker for teacher training, professional development and school development days.

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Start a teacher training day with an activity that gets staff talking without requiring a long round of introductions.

Colleagues from different year groups, departments and sites finally have time together, and a short card gives them a reason to use it.

It fits naturally into an INSET or CPD day, and the same format works for professional-development days, faculty training and whole-school staff sessions.

How to run this activity

Give each member of staff a bingo card as they arrive for the training day. Participants move around the room finding colleagues who match each square, noting their name or a brief detail next to it. Set a time limit before the first session begins, or run it during registration and breaks. Whoever completes a line first can be invited to share a favourite square with the room.

An INSET day icebreaker with a purpose

Prompts drawn from school life give staff something real to talk about, and often surface experience colleagues did not know was in the room.

  • Has taught more than one key stage.
  • Joined the school this year.
  • Has led a school trip.
  • Has taught a lesson outdoors.
  • Uses a particular classroom technique well.
  • Has a resource they would recommend.
  • Has worked in more than one school.
  • Has run an INSET session on this topic before.
  • Has a teaching shortcut worth sharing.
  • Is trying a new approach this term.

Adapt it to the training day

If teaching, support, administrative and site staff are taking part together, favour prompts based on shared school experiences rather than specialist classroom knowledge.

If the group is smaller or subject-specific, customise a handful of squares around the training theme, school priorities or the work colleagues will be doing later in the day.

How to run the activity

  1. Give each member of staff a card as they arrive, or share the live game on screen.
  2. Ask people to find colleagues who match each square and note a name or short detail.
  3. Set a time limit before the first session begins, or run it during registration and breaks.
  4. Stop when someone completes a line or a full card.
  5. Invite one or two people to share a favourite square with the room.

Full prompt list

  1. Find someone who has taught more than one year group this year
  2. Find someone who has a favourite whiteboard pen colour
  3. Find someone who has laminated something in the last month
  4. Find someone who has a go-to classroom management trick
  5. Find someone who has attended this training venue before
  6. Find someone who brought their own mug to the staff room
  7. Find someone who has a display board they are proud of
  8. Find someone who has covered a lesson at short notice recently
  9. Find someone who has a favourite educational podcast or book
  10. Find someone who has run a lunchtime or after-school club
  11. Find someone who has a funny story about a school trip
  12. Find someone who has changed year groups or subjects before
  13. Find someone who keeps spare pencils in their desk drawer
  14. Find someone who has a favourite staff room biscuit
  15. Find someone who has used a new teaching tool this term
  16. Find someone who walks or cycles to school
  17. Find someone who has a plant on their desk or windowsill
  18. Find someone who has taught for more than ten years
  19. Find someone who has a nickname among pupils
  20. Find someone who has organised a school event this year
  21. Find someone who has a favourite assembly theme
  22. Find someone new to the school this year
  23. Find someone who has a tidy marking pile right now
  24. Find someone who has a classroom playlist for quiet work

Customisation ideas

  • Add prompts referencing your school's specific traditions or recent achievements
  • Include a square for staff who have worked at the school for a notable number of years
  • Adjust prompts to suit primary or secondary staff experiences
  • Pair with a small stationery prize for the first person to complete a card

Frequently asked questions

It works best right at the start, before the formal training content begins, or during a morning coffee break when staff are naturally circulating. It sets a relaxed tone for the sessions that follow.

Yes, it is designed to be inclusive of teaching assistants, admin staff, and site teams as well as teachers. The prompts focus on shared school experiences rather than subject-specific knowledge.

That is exactly when it works best, as it gives people a structured reason to introduce themselves. New staff often find it an easy way to meet colleagues from other departments.

No. It can also work as a short reset between longer CPD sessions or as an informal activity during a break. The important thing is to give staff enough time to move around and talk without competing with the core training content.

Related activity guidance

For activities that continue into the learning itself, explore RoomZing's training bingo ideas and templates.

Related templates

Customise the Teacher Training Day Bingo game

Edit the prompts for your school, department or INSET theme and choose live or printable play.