Case Study: Team Building and Problem Solving: A Unique Approach to CPD

The process starts when you send us a list of participants, together with their likes, dislikes and any interesting titbits. We’ll then write a script populated with characters for every single one of your colleagues. This infinitely flexible structure is suitable for groups big and small – our event at Reading’s Abbey School featured a total of eighty different speaking parts! And we can also incorporate particular events of your choosing – including the headteacher’s impending retirement at Birmingham’s Oasis Academy Woodview!

The day begins with a team-building warm-up, with Northumbria’s Oakley Cross selecting the ever-popular Trading Game – before moving to the Murder Mystery itself, which takes place around tables. We bring scripts for everyone to read from – along with our home-grown detective, Sir Henry Campbell! As the increasingly fiendish mystery unfolds, colleagues will recognise facts about themselves in the characters they’re reading – and the chief suspects begin to emerge. At the end of it all, participants work in smaller teams to attempt to piece together the different parts of the jigsaw, discard any red herrings – and identify the murderer. There’s even a prize for the Best Team Effort. A car? A holiday? Well, like the storyline itself, it’s a mystery – so you’ll just have to wait to find out …

Don’t forget that we also offer a wide range of other CPD initiatives, tried and tested across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Exploring Creative Approaches to Maths, Outdoor Learning, Creative Approaches to Shakespeare and The Drama of Science, these can all be adapted to suit any timeframe from a twilight to a residential. While you can also, of course, take a mix-and-match approach to create your own tailored menu.