A B C Private School
Executive Summary
ABC Private School has maintained its overall Good performance judgment since the previous inspection in 2023. The school offers a British curriculum and serves a diverse student body in Al Shamkhah, Abu Dhabi. The newly appointed principal has established a coherent leadership structure, providing a clear foundation for future improvement and maintaining stability through a period of significant staffing change.
Students' achievement remains Good across most subjects, with notable improvements in Arabic-medium subjects and Phase 1 English-medium subjects. The school successfully met its targets in the 2022 PISA assessments for English, mathematics, and science, and in the 2023 TIMSS assessments for Year 5 mathematics and science. Students demonstrate positive attitudes, a secure understanding of Islamic values, and pride in their UAE national identity.
The school demonstrates effective procedures for safeguarding and robust support systems, ensuring student safety and well-being, alongside timely identification of students with additional learning needs. While leadership and management are largely Good, governance has declined to Acceptable, highlighting areas for strengthening representation and accountability.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
A B C Private School Overall Rating
Good for 2+ consecutive years
ADEK Performance Standards
The six Irtiqa inspection standards used by ADEK to evaluate school performance across Abu Dhabi.
Students' achievement is Good overall, with improvements in Arabic-medium subjects and Phase 1 English-medium subjects. While PISA and TIMSS targets were met in some areas, attainment in GL-PT English and Mathematics remains Weak in Cycles 2 and 3, and Science achievement is Acceptable in Cycle 3. Arabic-medium subjectsEnglish-medium subjectsPISATIMSS
Personal development is Good across all phases, characterized by positive attitudes and behavior, although some inconsistency was noted in lower year groups of Cycle 2 boys. Students demonstrate a good understanding of Islamic values and respect for UAE culture, but social responsibility and innovation skills are Acceptable. Islamic valuesUAE cultureSocial responsibilityInnovation skills
Teaching for effective learning is Good across all phases, with improvements in KG due to strengthened leadership and play-based pedagogy. However, assessment has regressed to Acceptable across Cycles 1, 2, and 3 due to inconsistencies in robust procedures, data analysis, and the effectiveness of follow-up actions. Play-based pedagogyAssessment proceduresData analysis
Curriculum design and implementation are Good, offering a broad, coherent framework aligned with UAE priorities and clear progression. Curriculum adaptation, however, is Acceptable, as modifications for diverse learners, including students of determination and higher-attaining students, are not consistently implemented. Curriculum designUAE prioritiesCurriculum adaptationStudents of determination
Health and safety, including safeguarding, remain strong and Good across all phases, with effective systems and procedures. Care and support improved to Good, with enhanced attendance monitoring, improved punctuality, and more accurate identification of students with additional learning needs, though in-lesson support varies. SafeguardingHealth and safetyCare and supportAdditional learning needs
Leadership and management are Good in effectiveness, self-evaluation, partnerships, and resources, with the new principal establishing a coherent structure. However, governance has declined to Acceptable, reflecting limited representation and a need to strengthen its role in ensuring stability and accountability. Leadership effectivenessSelf-evaluationGovernanceStaffing stability
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Consistent Achievement
Students' achievement is maintained at an overall Good level across most subjects, with strong performance in PISA and TIMSS assessments.
Positive Development
Students demonstrate positive, respectful, and responsible attitudes, with a secure understanding of Islamic values and pride in UAE national identity.
Effective Safeguarding
The school has effective procedures for safeguarding and robust support systems ensuring students’ safety and well-being.
Strong Leadership
Leaders provide clear strategic direction and have maintained overall school stability through significant staffing changes.
Improved Care & Support
Care and support for students, including identification of additional learning needs, has improved across all phases.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Overall, students' achievement is Good, with notable strengths in Arabic as a first language across all phases and strong PISA results. However, consistency in attainment and progress, particularly in GL-PT assessments and specific areas like scientific inquiry skills, requires further development.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The leadership team, led by a newly appointed principal, demonstrates a clear commitment to school improvement through a coherent structure and systematic monitoring. They actively use benchmark data from international assessments to guide decision-making and embed targets for raising performance, though consistent implementation across lessons is still developing.
Inspection Findings
Students' Achievement
Students' achievement is Good overall, with most students in Cycles 1, 2, and 3 attaining above curriculum standards in Arabic as a first language. Islamic Education shows varied attainment, with some phases needing deeper application of rulings and consistent Qur'an recitation. English attainment is Good in Cycles 1 and 2, but GL-PT results are Weak. Mathematics progress improved in Cycle 2, but attainment regressed in Cycle 3. Scientific inquiry skills need development in Cycle 3.
Personal & Social Development
Personal development is Good across all phases, with positive attitudes and behavior, though minor inconsistencies exist in some Cycle 2 boys. Students show a good understanding of Islamic values and respect for UAE culture. Social responsibility and innovation skills are Acceptable, as student involvement in wider community activities and enterprise is not yet fully developed.
Teaching & Assessment
Teaching for effective learning is Good across all phases, with strong improvements in KG due to play-based pedagogy. Teachers effectively use modelling and scaffolding. However, assessment has regressed to Acceptable across Cycles 1, 2, and 3 due to inconsistent implementation of robust procedures, insufficient depth of data analysis, and ineffective follow-up actions.
Curriculum Design & Adaptation
Curriculum design and implementation are Good, providing a broad, coherent, and UAE-aligned framework with clear progression. Adaptation is Acceptable because planned modifications for diverse learners, including higher-attaining students and students of determination, are not consistently implemented. Opportunities for enterprise, innovation, and creativity also remain inconsistent.
Protection, Care & Support
Health and safety, including safeguarding, are Good across all phases with effective systems. Care and support improved to Good, driven by a sharper focus on attendance monitoring and strengthened communication with parents. Identification of students with additional learning needs is more accurate, but effective in-lesson support and challenge remain variable.
Areas for Development
- •Raise students’ attainment and progress to consistently good and better across all subjects and phases, by deepening understanding and skills in Islamic education and social studies, improving writing and higher-order reading/speaking skills in Arabic and English, strengthening mathematical reasoning, and developing scientific enquiry skills.
- •Improve aspects of teaching, assessment, and curriculum implementation, by increasing consistency of effective teaching, embedding opportunities for independence and higher-order skills, ensuring robust assessment procedures and effective data use, enhancing written feedback, and expanding cross-curricular links for innovation and support for diverse learners.
- •Strengthen the effectiveness of leadership and management by improving leadership in assessment procedures, professional challenge, and evaluative impact, sharpening self-evaluation, developing middle leaders’ evaluation capacity, and strengthening governance effectiveness through staff stability, accountability, wider representation, and analytical data use.
- •Continue to strengthen students’ performance in international and standardized assessments by aligning curriculum planning and teaching more precisely with TIMSS, PIRLS, PISA, and GL frameworks, analyzing data to identify gaps, ensuring teachers integrate assessment-related competencies, and increasing exposure to higher-order, multi-step problem-solving tasks.