Ambassador International Academy, Dubai
KHDA Inspection Report & Ratings
Last updated
Executive Summary
Ambassador International Academy L.L.C provides a Good quality of education, as determined by the KHDA inspection for the 2023-2024 academic year. The school follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, fostering a strong sense of belonging and promoting global citizenship among its diverse student body.
Academically, the school demonstrates Very Good achievement in English and mathematics in Kindergarten, with students in Primary (PYP) making strong progress. Students exhibit independence, confidence, tolerance, and respect, actively participating in student-led initiatives that enhance their learner profiles and understanding of Islamic traditions and UAE culture.
Provision for learners is strong, with teachers demonstrating secure subject knowledge and a curriculum that encapsulates a strong IB philosophy. The school prioritizes student welfare, with highly effective safeguarding and a strong commitment to inclusion and wellbeing. Leadership is characterized by a shared vision, effective delegated leadership, and Outstanding parental engagement, leading to substantial growth in provision for inclusion and wellbeing.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Ambassador International Academy L.L.C Overall Rating
Good for 3+ 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 fosters an inclusive ethos with well-designed premises and strong identification procedures for students of determination. While parental engagement is strong, particularly in KG, intervention strategies and consistency of provision across phases vary, and some external assessment data raises questions about reliability. Students of DeterminationIdentification processesParent partnerships
The school demonstrates a strong commitment to wellbeing with a clear vision, though initiatives vary across grades and are not yet fully integrated or consistently documented. Staff and students actively contribute to a positive environment, with student voice being a cornerstone. Supportive initiatives like worry jars and regular checks are in place, but inconsistencies exist between different grades. Student voiceWorry jarsStakeholder surveys
The school achieved 'Very good' in the National Agenda Parameter, exceeding its PIRLS 2021 target by 31 points. Benchmark tests in English, mathematics, and science sustained a good overall judgment. Leaders effectively use external assessment data for action planning, though teacher application of this data varies. Reading literacy skills are developing, with whole-class approaches in place, but individual targeted interventions for lower-performing readers are needed. PIRLS 2021Benchmark progress testsReading literacy skills
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Mutual Trust & Collaboration
There is strong mutual trust among leaders, governors, teachers, students, and parents, fostering a collaborative school environment.
Diverse Community & Culture
The school celebrates its diverse community, promoting understanding of Islamic values and UAE culture among students.
Strong KG Achievement
Children in Kindergarten show very strong achievement in English and mathematics, with good progress observed in the Primary phase.
Engaged Parent Partnerships
Open communication channels ensure parents are actively engaged and committed partners in their children’s learning journey.
Resource Development
The school has made significant developments in human and physical resources to effectively support and enhance student learning.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Learning skills are very good in KG and good in PYP and MYP. Overall achievement in English, Mathematics, and Science is at least good across all phases, with notable strengths in KG. Following improvement in Ministry of Education subjects, achievement in PYP is slightly better than in MYP.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The principal has effectively unified leaders around a clear, shared vision for an inclusive school, leveraging delegated leadership and mutual trust to improve student outcomes. Leaders demonstrate strong knowledge of the IB framework and best practices, systematically using data for self-evaluation and improvement planning.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students' achievement is at least good in English, Mathematics, and Science across phases, with very good outcomes in KG. Islamic Education and Arabic show improvement but remain acceptable in MYP. Students demonstrate very good learning skills in KG and good skills in PYP and MYP, showing active engagement and growing responsibility for their learning.
Personal Development
Students exhibit a strong sense of belonging, independence, confidence, tolerance, and respect. They demonstrate a strong understanding of Islamic values, appreciate Emirati and world cultures, and show very good social responsibility and innovation skills, actively participating in sustainability and community support initiatives.
Teaching Quality
Teachers possess secure subject knowledge, plan lessons purposefully, and manage time and resources effectively. While teaching strategies are variable in science, the best lessons apply a range of strategies fostering critical thinking. Assessment use is improving in KG, but inconsistent in other phases for personalizing learning and using external benchmark data effectively.
Protection & Care
Student welfare is a priority, with all staff understanding safeguarding duties and premises being very safe and hygienic. Supervision is highly effective, and healthy lifestyles are promoted. There is a strong commitment to inclusivity and wellbeing, with effective systems for identifying students of determination, though consistency in adaptations during lessons varies.
Areas for Development
- •Improve the outcomes in Islamic Education and Arabic by modifying the curriculum more effectively to address gaps in students' knowledge and skills, particularly in Islamic Education in MYP and in Arabic for non-native speakers, and by modelling best practice in these subjects focusing on the development of all language skills.
- •Share the school’s best practice of teaching and learning to ensure that all groups of students fully realise their potential.
- •Ensure that the analysis of assessment information provides an accurate picture of students’ progress and is used in lesson planning to match learning activities to students’ needs and abilities.
- •Support recently appointed leaders to increase their skills within their faculties and to prepare for the introduction of the various programmes for senior students.
- •Introduce more individualised approaches to improve students' reading literacy skills in all phases.
- •Implement comprehensive evaluation methods to record and measure the effectiveness of wellbeing initiatives in all phases.
- •Establish a systematic framework for assessing and refining student-led initiatives.
- •Strengthen the background Islamic knowledge and understanding of MYP students.
- •Improve students’ achievement by maintaining a better balance between teacher’s input and students’ independent learning during lessons.
- •Provide students, especially in MYP, with more purposeful opportunities to develop their speaking skills using modern standard Arabic.
- •Modify the curriculum and adjust teaching strategies to systematically develop students listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, particularly in MYP.
- •Improve students’ listening, speaking and reading skills in PYP and MYP.
- •Ensure that all teachers provide activities in lessons that target and improve all four language skills.
- •Extend students’ research.
- •Improve students’ literacy skills.
- •Provide all students with even more opportunities for developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- •Ensure that students are able to consolidate new mathematical learning before going forward.
- •Provide more practical learning experiences for students in MYP.
- •Ensure all students engage in more regular practical laboratory work to build confidence in conducting investigations aligned with the scientific method.
- •Provide regular opportunities for students to apply their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in lessons.
- •Ensure that more use is made of technology to extend students’ research and presentation skills.
- •Encourage the clear communication of learning objectives in all lessons.
- •Raise the level of challenge in moderated internal assessments and align the required skills and content to the IB or MoE standards.
- •Improve the use of assessment information when planning learning for all groups of students.
- •Ensure that the curriculum modifications that appear in lesson plans are delivered to meet the learning needs of all groups of students.
- •Ensure that curriculum planning in PYP, takes full account of the depth and breadth of subject knowledge and skills required for MYP.
- •Ensure that archived information relating to students' welfare is accessible to enable leaders to make fully informed decisions.
- •Foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment in which every student receives personalised support and challenge tailored to their individual needs and abilities.
- •Develop clear protocols for assessing students starting points, setting achievement targets, and monitoring progress consistently in all phases and subjects.
- •Implement individual plans for those identified as more able or gifted and talented, outlining specific modifications, and instructional strategies to their needs.