Al Sadiq Islamic English School
Executive Summary
Al Sadiq Islamic English School provides an Acceptable quality of education, as determined by the 2023-2024 KHDA inspection. The school follows the National Curriculum for England, catering to students from FS2 to Year 11. While overall performance is acceptable, there are notable strengths in students' personal development and the effectiveness of leadership.
Students in the Secondary phase demonstrate Good attainment and progress in English, Mathematics, and Science, with Good learning skills. Personal development is a significant strength, rated Very Good in Secondary, with students showing positive attitudes, strong understanding of Islamic values, and active social contributions. Partnerships with parents are also highlighted as Very Good.
The school's leadership and governance are rated Good, effectively communicating vision and core values. However, areas for development include improving the consistency of teaching across all phases, ensuring better use of assessment data to address learning gaps, and enhancing students' reading literacy skills, particularly for Emirati students.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Al Sadiq Islamic English School Overall Rating
Acceptable for 7+ 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 has appropriate systems for identifying students of determination and those who are gifted and talented, enabling them to make adequate personal and academic progress. Partnerships with parents are strong, providing effective support and regular communication, though early identification in FS needs improvement. students of determinationgifted and talentedpartnerships with parents
Wellbeing provision and outcomes are good, led by a dedicated team with clear policies and action plans. Students' views significantly shape provision, and they demonstrate a deep awareness of wellbeing themes and the needs of others. Student-led wellbeing teams are a particular strength. wellbeing provisionstudent-led wellbeing teamsmental health
The school's overall standards in the National Agenda Parameter are good. Students' outcomes in PIRLS have significantly increased, exceeding targets. Progress for both the whole school and Emirati students in mathematics, science, and English has improved, though specific measurable targets for Emirati students' reading skills are needed. National Agenda ParameterPIRLSreading literacy skillsEmirati students
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Strong Parent Partnerships
The school maintains very strong partnerships with parents, who actively support their children’s learning and are involved in school decisions.
Student Personal Development
Students demonstrate strong personal development, a secure understanding of Islamic values, and a deep awareness of UAE history and culture.
Effective Leadership & Governance
The school benefits from effective leadership and governance that provide a clear vision and hold leaders accountable for school performance.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Overall, students' achievement is acceptable. While Secondary students show good attainment and progress in core subjects and learning skills, achievement in FS and Primary is generally acceptable, with some areas needing more consistent improvement.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The leadership team, led by the principal, effectively communicates the school's vision and core values, creating a positive and professional environment. They have a secure understanding of the curriculum and have driven improvements in some areas. While self-evaluation procedures are methodical, there is a need to strengthen the link between teaching and students' progress in improvement planning.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students' achievement is acceptable overall, with good attainment and progress in Secondary English, Mathematics, Science, and Islamic Education. Learning skills are good in Secondary but acceptable in FS and Primary. Progress in FS Mathematics has declined.
Personal Development
Students exhibit consistently good behavior and positive attitudes, with Secondary students demonstrating strong self-reliance and commitment. They have a strong understanding of Islamic values, UAE culture, and make positive social contributions, particularly girls.
Teaching Quality
The quality of teaching is good in Secondary but acceptable in FS and Primary. Teaching is most effective when active learning is promoted, and assessment data is used effectively, particularly in Secondary, to inform lesson planning and address learning gaps.
Protection & Care
The school has effective procedures for health, safety, and safeguarding, with well-maintained premises and detailed health records. Care and support for students are good, with effective systems for attendance and behavior, though consistent implementation of the behavior policy and emergency drills need attention.
Areas for Development
- •Improve the quality and consistency of teaching in all phases.
- •Ensure that, in reviewing the curriculum, full use is made of assessment data to identify and close gaps in students’ learning.
- •Improve students’ reading literacy skills by ensuring that the school’s reading development strategies are implemented consistently in all subjects.
- •Improve the students’ reading assessment outcomes, particularly those for Emirati students.
- •Use the data from external and internal assessments more effectively in lessons.
- •Make more use of informal methods to enhance the collection of stakeholders’ views.
- •Provide more opportunities for students to consolidate their learning by making links to everyday life.
- •Improve reading comprehension across all year groups.
- •Improve the acquisition of standard Arabic vocabulary to enhance speaking and writing proficiency.
- •Provide more opportunities for students to develop their speaking and writing skills.
- •Improve students’ writing skills by placing emphasis on the conventions and techniques, and routinely check their work for accuracy.
- •Improve attainment through the use of more consistent teaching and classroom routines in FS and Primary.
- •Ensure that the improved teaching and learning strategies in Secondary are shared and implemented effectively in the other phases.
- •Strengthen opportunities for students in Primary to develop their scientific investigation skills.
- •Consolidate the recent improvements in external assessments, and in particular improve the external assessment results in biology in Secondary.
- •Provide more collaborative learning opportunities for children and students to discuss and develop their ideas, particularly in FS and Primary.
- •Provide more opportunities for students to be involved in social outreach programmes in the local community.
- •Ensure that, in all phases, more use is made of assessment data to match learning activities to the needs of students.
- •Ensure that written feedback to students is consistent across all phases and includes next steps for improvement.
- •Adapt the curriculum to meet the different needs and abilities of all groups of students.
- •Enhance the curriculum in Arabic.
- •Ensure consistent implementation of the school`s behaviour policy in all lessons.
- •Complete a lockdown drill to ensure that all students are confident and familiar with the procedures.
- •Work more closely with parents to identify students of determination on entry to the school, particularly in FS.
- •Enhance the process of self-evaluation by establishing a close connection between teaching and students’ learning and progress.