Al Ittihad Private School - Al Safa, Dubai
KHDA Inspection Report & Ratings 2019
Last updated
Executive Summary
Al Ittihad Private School - Al Safa provides a Good quality of education, as affirmed by its latest inspection. The school is recognized for its strong understanding of Islamic values and UAE culture among students, alongside robust partnerships with parents. An inclusive ethos ensures high-quality care and support for all students, including students of determination.
Students' achievement varies from acceptable to very good across key subjects, with notable progress in science and mathematics in the high school. Teaching quality is generally good, with effective use of technology and assessment data to engage students. The curriculum, based on California Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Ministry of Education (MoE) standards, is regularly reviewed and adapted to meet diverse learning needs, emphasizing cross-curricular links and Emirati culture.
The school demonstrates Very Good provision for students' health, safety, care, and support, with well-maintained facilities and comprehensive safeguarding procedures. Leadership is effective, with a clear vision shared among stakeholders, and strong partnerships with parents and the community. Governors systematically hold leaders accountable, ensuring adequate staffing and resources for teaching and learning.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Al Ittihad Private School - Al Safa Overall Rating
Good for 11+ consecutive years
Dubai Focus Areas
These three pillars represent the Dubai education authority's priorities: ensuring inclusive practices, prioritizing student wellbeing, and meeting UAE National Agenda targets.
The school demonstrates a strong commitment to an inclusive ethos, supported by a highly qualified team and clear strategic plans for students of determination. Accurate identification processes lead to comprehensive Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and parents are actively involved in supporting their children's progress. Students of determination generally make better than expected progress. students of determinationinclusive ethosIEPs
Wellbeing provision and outcomes are very good, fostering a positive school climate through various initiatives and clear policies. Stakeholders are engaged, and students' views help shape provision, though data collection for decision-making needs improvement. Curriculum initiatives support wellbeing, and students demonstrate a secure understanding of their own wellbeing and online safety. wellbeing initiativespositive school climateonline safety
The school exceeded its PIRLS target in 2021, but sustained a weak judgment in benchmark assessments for English, mathematics, and science over two years, despite notable progress in English for Grade 8 and high school. Leaders understand international benchmark levels and address gaps through action plans, but reading literacy interventions lack consistency, particularly for elementary and middle school students and students of determination. PIRLSbenchmark assessmentreading literacy
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Islamic Values & UAE Culture
Students demonstrate a strong understanding of Islamic values and UAE culture, actively participating in projects that positively impact the school and local community.
Strong Parent Partnerships
The school fosters strong partnerships with parents, who play a significant role in school life through the parents' council.
Inclusive Ethos & Care
The school maintains an inclusive ethos, providing high-quality care and support for all students, including students of determination.
High School Progress
Students in high school show accelerated progress in mathematics and science, enhanced by well-developed inquiry and research skills.
Curriculum Adaptation
The curriculum is regularly reviewed and adapted to meet diverse learning needs, featuring clear cross-curricular links and integration of Emirati culture.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Students' achievement ranges from acceptable to very good across key subjects, with specific strengths in science and mathematics progress in the high school. Learning skills are consistently good across all phases.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The principal and senior leaders demonstrate a clear vision and mission for the school, effectively shared with all stakeholders. They are proactive in self-evaluation and improvement planning, ensuring accountability and strong community engagement. Leadership ensures that the school is well-resourced to support effective teaching and learning.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students' achievement varies from acceptable to very good across subjects, with strong progress in high school science and mathematics. Students are well-engaged in learning, demonstrating responsibility and effective collaboration. They show very positive attitudes towards learning and excellent understanding of Islamic values and UAE culture.
Personal Development
Students feel safe and valued, displaying positive attitudes, self-discipline, and respect for others. They show deep understanding of Islamic values and UAE heritage, actively participating in school and community projects. Students exhibit a strong work ethic, social responsibility, and promote sustainability initiatives.
Teaching Quality
Teaching quality is good across all phases, with teachers demonstrating strong subject knowledge and using varied strategies to engage students. Effective assessment systems are in place, with data used to inform planning and differentiate learning. While teaching is becoming more student-centered, critical thinking and independent inquiry are still developing features.
Protection & Care
The school has very good procedures for health and safety, including rigorous risk assessments and effective prevention of abuse. Medical staff successfully support children's health. Care and support for students are very good, with effective identification of students of determination and comprehensive career guidance, though consistent challenge for gifted students needs improvement.
Areas for Development
- •Ensure the governing board has a stronger impact on the recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers.
- •Implement more effective systems to improve students’ attendance and punctuality, especially at the beginning of the school day.
- •Provide students, across all phases, with more opportunities to develop their critical thinking skills and to learn through independent inquiry.
- •Raise students’ attainment and accelerate their progress in key subjects, focusing, in particular, on developing their literacy skills.
- •Review the impact of interventions to ensure strategies are effectively promoting students’ reading skills adequately across all subjects and particularly in the elementary and middle schools.
- •Foster positive habits for daily reading through consistent curriculum planning across all subjects.
- •Ensure that a wellbeing curriculum is consistent throughout the school to achieve more positive outcomes.
- •Implement ongoing personalized guidance and support for new staff to ensure their wellbeing and enhance retention rates.
- •Strengthen students’ skills of basing rulings on references from the Holy Qur'an, Hadith or Seerah.
- •Develop deeper connections between the subject matter of lessons and wider world applications in Islamic Education.
- •Ensure consistency in teachers’ expectations in all phases, especially in Middle school Arabic as a First Language.
- •Improve students’ ability to explain and support their responses using standard Arabic.
- •Provide students with more everyday life situations to interact with each other using Arabic as an Additional Language.
- •Improve the teaching of phonics in KG English.
- •Create more opportunities for extended writing across the school.
- •Improve students' ability to think critically and apply knowledge to everyday contexts across all grade levels in Mathematics.
- •Ensure students regularly use physical resources to extend their mathematical thinking skills especially in the elementary and middle schools.
- •Provide more challenging learning activities to further develop students’ critical thinking skills in Science.
- •Ensure students engage in enquiry and innovative learning both in and beyond the classroom.
- •Provide students with more opportunities to engage in collaborative learning.
- •Remind students in Middle school of the need to manage their own behavior.
- •Enhance students' understanding of a wider range of world cultures.
- •Strengthen students’ critical thinking and independent enquiry skills through more innovative tasks that provide greater investigative challenge.
- •Ensure teachers use assessment information to plan activities to meet the differing needs of students.
- •Review the implementation of the English curriculum in KG, particularly for higher and lower achievers.
- •Provide more personalized differentiation approaches to better align the curriculum with students’ abilities, particularly for higher achievers.
- •Enhance procedures for ensuring that all students arrive on time at the start of the day.
- •As a matter of priority, ensure that all pedestrians cross the road in safe places on arrival and departure.
- •Hold teachers accountable for ensuring that students of determination make an appropriate level of progress towards their IEP targets.
- •Ensure children in KG with potential learning needs receive the support needed to promote their progress in literacy and numeracy.