Al Manara Private School - MBZ

Curriculum
Ministry of Education
ADEK
Good
Location
Abu Dhabi, Mohamed Bin Zayed City
Fees
AED 13K - 17K

Executive Summary

Al Manara Private School - MBZ has achieved an overall ADEK Irtiqa rating of Good for the 2024-2025 academic year, marking a significant improvement from its previous Acceptable rating in 2022. This positive trajectory reflects the dedicated efforts of senior leaders, including a new principal and vice principal, in enhancing teaching and learning despite challenges in staff retention and increased enrolment.

The school's academic performance shows strength, with students' achievements improving to Good across most subjects and cycles. Notably, attainment and progress in Islamic Education, Arabic as a first language, Mathematics, and Science have seen considerable improvement. Students also exhibit positive attitudes, a strong understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture, and good social responsibility skills.

Effective leadership, self-evaluation, and improvement planning have been instrumental in this progress, with a clear strategic direction now in place. While teaching and assessment practices are consistently Good, the school is focused on further developing students' innovation skills and ensuring consistent challenge and support for all learners, including those with additional learning needs and the gifted and talented.

Overall School Performance

Inspection Year 2024-2025

Outstanding

Very Good

Good

Acceptable

Weak

Very Weak

Al Manara Private School - MBZ Overall Rating

Good

ADEK Performance Standards

The six Irtiqa inspection standards used by ADEK to evaluate school performance across Abu Dhabi.

Students' Achievement
Good

Students' achievements are rated Good, with significant improvements noted across most subjects and cycles since the previous inspection. Students demonstrate better than expected progress in Islamic Education, Arabic, Mathematics, and Science, with strong attainment in KG, Cycle 2, and Cycle 3. Learning skills have also improved to Good across all phases. Islamic EducationArabicMathematicsScienceLearning Skills

Students' Personal & Social Development
Good

Students' personal and social development, including innovation skills, is rated Good across all cycles. Students exhibit positive attitudes towards learning, a strong appreciation for Islamic values and Emirati culture, and good social responsibility through community participation. Innovation skills are generally less developed. Islamic valuesEmirati culturesocial responsibility

Teaching & Assessment
Good

Teaching and assessment practices are rated Good across all cycles, showing improvement from Acceptable. Teachers possess strong subject knowledge and utilize effective teaching strategies. Assessment procedures are more systematic, with data generally used effectively to adapt lessons, though consistency can vary. subject knowledgeeffective teaching strategiessystematic assessment

Curriculum
Good

The curriculum is rated Good across all cycles. The Ministry of Education (MoE) curriculum is well-designed, providing a clear rationale and effectively preparing students for subsequent educational stages. Curriculum adaptation is also judged to be Good. MoE curriculumcurriculum adaptation

Protection, Care, Guidance & Support
Good

Protection, care, guidance, and support for students are rated Good across all cycles. The school maintains effective health and safety measures, including child protection. While processes for identifying students of determination are well-developed, there is room to increase identified numbers and further develop identification for gifted and talented students. health and safetychild protectionstudents of determinationgifted and talented

Leadership & Management
Good

Leadership and management are rated Good overall, reflecting improved effectiveness of leadership and self-evaluation. The new principal and vice-principal have established a clear strategic direction. Partnerships with parents remain Good, though governance and management of staffing, facilities, and resources are rated Acceptable. effectiveness of leadershipself-evaluationstrategic directionpartnerships with parents

Key Highlights

Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.

Students' Achievements Improved

Students' achievements have improved from Acceptable to Good across all subjects and most cycles, reflecting enhanced learning outcomes.

Strong TIMSS Performance

The school met its 2023 TIMSS targets in Grade 8 mathematics and science, indicating effective instruction in these areas.

Positive Personal Development

Students show high attendance, a clear appreciation of Islamic values and UAE culture, and strong social responsibility.

Effective Safeguarding

The school has effective and well-communicated procedures for student safeguarding and child protection, ensuring a safe environment.

Clear Strategic Leadership

The principal has established a clear strategic direction and shared vision, actively supported by the school community, driving continuous improvement.

Enhanced Teaching & Assessment

Teaching and assessment practices have improved to Good across all cycles, with teachers demonstrating solid subject knowledge and more systematic assessment.

Academic Performance Breakdown

KGKG1-KG2
Islamic Education
Good
Arabic as a first language
Good
UAE Social Studies
Good
English
Good
Mathematics
Good
Science
Acceptable
KG Note
Learning skills improved from Acceptable to Good.
Cycle 1Grades 1-5
Islamic Education
Acceptable
Arabic as a first language
Acceptable
UAE Social Studies
Good
English
Acceptable
Mathematics
Good
Science
Good
Cycle 1 Note
Learning skills improved from Acceptable to Good.
Cycle 2Grades 6-8
Islamic Education
Good
Arabic as a first language
Good
UAE Social Studies
Acceptable
English
Acceptable
Mathematics
Good
Science
Good
Cycle 2 Note
Learning skills improved from Acceptable to Good.
Cycle 3Grades 9-12
Islamic Education
Good
Arabic as a first language
Good
UAE Social Studies
Good
English
Good
Mathematics
Good
Science
Good
Cycle 3 Note
Learning skills improved from Acceptable to Good.

Students' achievements improved in all subjects and most cycles from Acceptable to Good. Improvement across subjects and cycles results from the guidance of senior and middle leaders, who facilitate the effective sharing of best practices among teaching staff. Students are mostly self-reliant, well-engaged, and communicate their learning effectively.

Leadership & Management

Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.

The effectiveness of leadership
Improved from Acceptable, with a clear strategic direction set by the new principal and vice-principal.
Good
School self-evaluation and improvement planning
Improved from Acceptable, with effective processes now in place.
Good
Parents and the community
Partnerships with parents continue to be Good.
Good
Governance
New owners have taken over strategic management and identified areas for improvement, but impact is not yet evident.
Acceptable
Management, staffing, facilities and resources
Day-to-day operations are managed efficiently, but staffing and resource provision for literacy need improvement.
Acceptable

Leadership Approach

The leadership team, including a newly appointed principal and vice-principal, demonstrates a clear strategic direction for the school, actively supported by senior and middle leaders. They have implemented effective self-evaluation and development planning processes, driving continuous improvement in teaching and learning. While strong in vision and parent partnerships, the leadership is focused on addressing challenges in governance, staff retention, and resource provision.

Inspection Findings

Students' Achievement

Students' attainment and progress have significantly improved across most subjects and cycles, moving from Acceptable to Good. This is evident in Islamic Education, Arabic, Mathematics, and Science. Students demonstrate strong learning skills, are self-reliant, and make clear connections between learning areas.

Personal & Social Development

Students' personal development, understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture, and social responsibility are rated Good across all phases. They show positive attitudes towards learning and actively participate in community initiatives, though innovation skills require further development.

Teaching & Assessment

Teaching and assessment practices have improved to Good across all cycles. Teachers exhibit strong subject knowledge and employ effective teaching strategies. Assessment procedures are more systematic, and data is generally used to adapt lessons, though consistency in data utilization needs further refinement.

Curriculum Design & Adaptation

The curriculum design, implementation, and adaptation are rated Good across all cycles. The Ministry of Education (MoE) curriculum provides a clear rationale, effectively preparing students for future educational stages. The school successfully adapts the curriculum to meet student needs.

Protection, Care & Support

The school's provision for health, safety, child protection, care, and support is rated Good across all cycles. While processes for identifying students of determination are very well developed, there is a need to increase identified numbers and establish a system for identifying gifted and talented students.

Areas for Development

  • Raise students’ achievements to consistently Good and Very Good levels across all subjects in KG and all cycles by enhancing recitation skills and understanding of the Holy Qur’an, promoting fluency in speaking standard Arabic, deepening understanding of social studies concepts, improving extended writing skills in English and Arabic, enhancing English reading and speaking fluency, improving spelling and punctuation, strengthening understanding of spatial awareness, geometric reasoning, and trigonometry, and developing independent investigation and scientific skills.
  • Ensure the consistency of effective teaching and assessment in all subjects and across KG and all cycles by providing sufficient opportunities for learning through play and exploration in KG, displaying subject-specific terms, offering sufficient challenge and support for all student groups, promoting innovative and independent learning skills, encouraging critical thinking and reflection, moderating internal assessment data for reliability, using assessment data effectively for tailored activities, providing opportunities for self- and peer assessments, and ensuring consistent marking and constructive feedback.
  • Improve the impact of leadership by strengthening the identification and support of students with additional learning needs, including students of determination, and the gifted and talented, adapting the curriculum more extensively for identified groups, implementing effective strategies for punctuality and positive behavior, providing training to middle leaders on best practices, offering regular professional development for new and KG teachers, revising lesson observation checklists to emphasize student learning, reviewing self-evaluation documentation regularly, developing KG teachers’ understanding of play-based learning, reviewing staff management policies to reduce turnover, and providing additional resources for reading and active learning.
  • Improve students' performance in international assessments (PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS) by modifying the curriculum to align with key knowledge and skills, promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, and inquiry-based learning, introducing diverse reading materials, designing assessments that prioritize analysis and evaluation, offering ongoing professional development for teachers on assessment frameworks, engaging parents in supporting learning, and implementing targeted support strategies.