Al Ittihad Private School
Executive Summary
Al Ittihad Private School provides a Good quality of education, as determined by the 2023-2024 inspection. Students' attainment and progress range from acceptable to good across subjects and phases, with particular strengths noted in the Kindergarten and High School. Students generally show positive attitudes, though behavior in lessons can sometimes impede learning, and collaboration is limited.
The quality of teaching is Good across all phases, with effective use of technology and assessment data, though critical thinking questioning is variable. The curriculum aligns with California and Ministry of Education standards, is regularly reviewed, and features good adaptation. The school maintains highly effective procedures for health and safety, with strong provision for student care and support.
Senior leaders demonstrate a clear vision and mission, actively responding to previous inspection recommendations. Partnerships with parents and the community are Good, and governors effectively hold leaders accountable. However, resources and staffing are only adequate, and improvement planning could be better linked to self-evaluation for greater impact.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Al Ittihad Private School Overall Rating
Good for 4+ 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 good provision and outcomes for students of determination, with senior leaders supporting inclusive practices and effective admission procedures. A dedicated team provides clear Individual Education Plans (IEPs), and parents are empowered as partners in their children's education. However, specialist education pathways for complex learning profiles are underdeveloped, and consistent differentiated instruction by all classroom teachers is needed. students of determinationIndividual Education Plans (IEPs)
The overall quality of wellbeing provision and outcomes is good, with a strong commitment from leadership and governors. While information is collected, it is not yet systematically analyzed to identify areas for improvement or targeted interventions. The school fosters a positive environment, ensures staff and student wellbeing, and uses curriculum initiatives for early screening and promoting students' understanding and management of their own wellbeing. wellbeing provisionpositive school environment
Overall school standards in the National Agenda Parameter are acceptable. While the school shows improvement, particularly in PIRLS scores and English/Science in higher grades, targets were not fully met. Leaders are aware of student achievements and trends, developing action plans focused on literacy and reading, with teachers using interventions and digital platforms. However, the depth of reading and writing activities varies, and a comprehensive reading and literacy action plan is needed. National Agenda ParameterPIRLSreading literacy
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Social Contribution & Values
Students demonstrate a strong understanding of Islamic values and UAE culture, actively participating in social contribution and community projects.
Health, Safety & Wellbeing
The school has highly effective procedures for ensuring students' health, safety, and overall wellbeing, including robust child protection and safeguarding policies.
Parental Engagement
Parents show strong loyalty to the school and actively support the new leadership team, contributing positively to the school community.
KG & High School Outcomes
Students in Kindergarten and High School demonstrate particular strengths in attainment and progress across various subjects.
Curriculum Adaptation
The curriculum is well-adapted to meet student needs, with ongoing reviews and modifications to support diverse learners.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Students' attainment and progress generally range from acceptable to good across subjects and phases, with specific strengths in KG and 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
Leaders at Al Ittihad Private School demonstrate a clear vision and mission, fostering professional relationships and positive morale. They are committed to school improvement, addressing previous recommendations, and engaging parents and the community in decision-making processes.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students' attainment and progress vary from acceptable to good across subjects and phases, with particular strengths in KG and High school. Students are generally well-engaged, but collaboration is limited, and behavior sometimes impedes learning. They effectively use technology for basic research and accessing materials.
Personal Development
Students exhibit positive attitudes and strong understanding of Islamic values, Emirati culture, and other world cultures. They engage in social contributions and environmental awareness, leading projects that benefit the local community. While behavior is mostly good, some middle school students lack focus, and attendance is only good.
Teaching Quality
Teaching quality is good across all phases, with teachers demonstrating secure subject knowledge and providing opportunities for technology use. While assessment data is effectively collected and analyzed, its use for differentiation is variable, and questioning to promote critical thinking is inconsistent, particularly in Elementary and Middle school.
Protection & Care
The school prioritizes student welfare with highly effective health, safety, and child protection procedures, including well-maintained facilities and comprehensive records. Strong provision for care and support is evident through positive relationships, effective behavior management, and detailed processes for identifying student needs. However, challenge for gifted students and alternative pathways for complex needs are underdeveloped.
Areas for Development
- •Improve attainment and progress, especially in Arabic, English and mathematics.
- •Ensure that governors further support the school in improving the recruitment and retention of effective teachers and in providing the learning resources needed to move the school forward.
- •Ensure that improvement planning is better linked to the self-evaluation process and has a more substantial impact.
- •Implement a comprehensive reading and literacy action plan that includes all subject areas.
- •Systematically track and monitor reading data to ensure that initiatives demonstrate a positive impact.
- •Provide all teachers with the professional training appropriate to their subject area to enable them to embed reading and literacy in their lessons.
- •Analyze data in a timely manner and use the ensuing information formally when setting goals and priorities for wellbeing.
- •Improve students’ recitation of the Holy Qur’an, using Tajweed skills.
- •Improve students’ progress in Islamic Education in the middle school.
- •Improve students’ writing skills to match curriculum standards in all phases for Arabic as a First Language.
- •Provide students with more opportunities to collaborate and engage in group work, class discussions and presentations for Arabic as a First Language.
- •Plan the curriculum in Middle and High to reflect students’ years of study and language ability for Arabic as an Additional Language.
- •Raise students’ proficiency in speaking and writing to match the curriculum standards in all phases for Arabic as an Additional Language.
- •Ensure that students in Elementary and Middle have more opportunities to develop their reading comprehension skills in English.
- •Improve students’ skills of literary analysis in the high school for English.
- •Ensure that students across phases have regular opportunities to apply their knowledge, skills, and understanding to everyday situations in Mathematics.
- •Provide frequent and focused opportunities for all students to develop literacy skills within the science context.
- •Ensure that, in Elementary and Middle, students have opportunities to be more self-directed in their learning.
- •Improve the use of technology for research and inquiry.
- •Improve behavior in the middle school.
- •Implement opportunities for students in Elementary and Middle to develop their innovatory and entrepreneurial skills.
- •Ensure that teachers in the elementary and middle schools foster more student-centered learning environments.
- •Effectively use assessment data to differentiate activities to meet the needs of all students.
- •Improve strategies to close the gap between internal and external assessment data.
- •Implement curriculum adaptations to meet the needs of all students by providing appropriate challenge for all learners.
- •Implement and monitor differentiation and enrichment in all classes consistently to advance students’ progress.
- •Provide alternative pathways for learners with more complex needs starting from the middle school.
- •Ensure that all classroom teachers provide differentiated instruction for students of determination.
- •Provide alternative pathways for students with complex difficulties from middle school onwards.