Asian International Private School - Madinat Zayed, Abu Dhabi
ADEK Inspection Report & Ratings
Last updated
Executive Summary
Asian International Private School - Madinat Zayed has achieved an overall ADEK Irtiqa rating of Good for the 2024-2025 academic year, marking a significant improvement from its previous 'Acceptable' judgment. This progress reflects enhanced quality across core areas, particularly in students' achievement in both Arabic and English-medium subjects.
The school demonstrates strong academic performance, with improved students' achievement across all subjects and phases, driven by effective teaching strategies. Notable progress is evident in Arabic-medium subjects, with many phases achieving 'Good' or 'Very Good' ratings. English-medium subjects, including English and Science, have also seen overall improvement, while Mathematics shows varied attainment across phases. The school actively benchmarks performance through international assessments like TIMSS, PISA, and PIRLS, and provides in-house teacher training to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Key strengths include positive students’ personal development, thorough safeguarding procedures, and dedicated senior leadership with a clear vision for school improvement. The school employs a systematic approach to self-evaluation, ensuring continuous progress. However, areas for development include enhancing scientific thinking, problem-solving in mathematics, extended writing skills, and improving provision for students of determination and high attainers.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Asian International Private School - Madinat Zayed Overall Rating
Good
ADEK Performance Standards
The six Irtiqa inspection standards used by ADEK to evaluate school performance across Abu Dhabi.
Students' achievement has improved across all subjects and phases, with notable progress in Arabic-medium subjects and overall improvement in English-medium subjects. Learning skills have also advanced from acceptable to good. However, attainment in Mathematics remains varied, and opportunities for scientific inquiry and advanced problem-solving need further development. Arabic-medium subjectsEnglish-medium subjectsLearning skills
Students demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning, with personal development and understanding of Islamic values, Emirati and global cultures rated as good. Collaboration and communication are generally productive. However, social responsibility and innovation skills are rated acceptable, indicating areas for further growth. Personal developmentIslamic valuesEmirati and global cultures
Teaching has consistently improved to good across all phases, with teachers demonstrating strong subject knowledge and providing relevant activities. Assessment, however, remains acceptable due to inconsistencies in reliability, analysis, and personalized support, limiting its effectiveness in addressing individual learning needs. Teaching strategiesSubject matter understandingAssessment processes
Curriculum design and adaptation are rated as acceptable across all phases. The school offers a balanced curriculum with community involvement, but faces challenges in systematic progression, differentiation strategies, and developing enterprise skills, which impacts the progress of both high and low achievers. Curriculum designCurriculum adaptationDifferentiation strategies
Health and safety, including child protection, remains good. However, care and support for students have regressed to acceptable due to limited accessibility for students with mobility challenges and insufficient identification and support for students of determination and those with additional learning needs. Health and safetyChild protectionStudents of determination
The effectiveness of leadership and self-evaluation has improved to good, driven by a clear understanding of school needs and a strong focus on student outcomes. However, partnerships with parents, governance, and management remain acceptable, with gaps in strategic areas such as parental involvement in improvement and appraising the principal's performance. Effectiveness of leadershipSelf-evaluationStudent outcomes
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Improved Student Achievement
Students' achievement has improved across all subjects and phases, reflecting the positive impact of effective teaching strategies.
Positive Personal Development
Students demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning and eagerness to engage in activities, contributing to strong personal development.
Thorough Safeguarding
The school maintains thorough safeguarding procedures, ensuring effective child protection measures are in place for all students.
Effective Senior Leadership
Dedicated and effective senior leadership, led by the principal, provides a clear vision and direction, driving continuous school improvement.
Systematic Self-Evaluation
A systematic approach to self-evaluation, guided by previous inspection recommendations, ensures ongoing school improvement and progress.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Students' learning skills have improved from acceptable to good across all phases due to enhanced progress. While students demonstrate positive attitudes, opportunities for speaking, inquiry, and diverse resources remain limited.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The leadership team demonstrates a clear understanding of the school's needs and priorities, maintaining a strong focus on enhancing student outcomes. They have successfully driven improvements in leadership effectiveness and self-evaluation, aligning development plans with national agenda priorities. However, there are identified gaps in strategic areas such as parental involvement in school improvement and governance oversight.
Inspection Findings
Students' Achievement
Students' achievement has shown overall improvement across all subjects and phases, with significant progress in Arabic-medium subjects and English. While internal assessments often show high attainment, this is not always consistent with external benchmarks or classroom observations, particularly in Mathematics where attainment remains acceptable in some phases. Learning skills have improved across all phases.
Personal & Social Development
Students exhibit positive attitudes towards learning, and their personal development, understanding of Islamic values, Emirati, and global cultures are rated as good. However, social responsibility and innovation skills are rated as acceptable, indicating a need for further development in these areas.
Teaching & Assessment
Teaching for effective learning has consistently improved to good across all phases, with teachers demonstrating strong subject knowledge and providing relevant, engaging activities. Assessment, however, remains acceptable due to inconsistencies in reliability, analysis, and personalized support, which limits its effectiveness in addressing individual learning needs and accelerating progress.
Curriculum Design & Adaptation
Curriculum design and adaptation are rated as acceptable across all phases. The curriculum is balanced and offers community involvement, but faces challenges in systematic progression, differentiation strategies, and developing enterprise skills. This impacts the progress of both high and low achievers, and the curriculum's adaptability to diverse learning styles needs enhancement.
Protection, Care & Support
Health and safety, including child protection and safeguarding arrangements, are rated as good. However, care and support for students have regressed to acceptable. This is attributed to limited accessibility for students with mobility challenges and insufficient identification and support for students of determination and those with additional learning needs.
Areas for Development
- •Raise students’ attainment, progress and learning further by ensuring students in science have more opportunities to develop scientific thinking, inquiry, and investigation skills, and apply the scientific method.
- •Improve students’ problem-solving skills and promote the application of mathematical thinking to real-life situations.
- •Strengthen extended writing, spelling, and speaking skills across all phases in English and Arabic as a second language.
- •Actively engage KG students in play-based and experiential learning to foster exploration and creativity.
- •Ensure students can effectively access and use technology across all phases and subjects for independent research and learning activities.
- •Enhance the quality and range of classroom libraries and books to foster a love of reading among students.
- •Expand the phonics program to include Grades 1 and 2, thereby strengthening foundational phonics skills that support solid reading development.
- •Improve strategies and provision for effective teaching, assessment, and curriculum by ensuring teachers deliver purposeful lessons that provide appropriate pace, support, and challenge for all students.
- •Strengthen the teaching of phonics in Phase 1 and lower Phase 2 grades.
- •Enhance resources to provide students with access to learning materials, including digital tools and hands-on resources, that promote differentiated learning and skill development.
- •Provide all students with clear and consistent feedback so that they know their strengths and next steps for improvement.
- •Use assessment data effectively across all phases and subjects to appropriately challenge and support students to accelerate their progress.
- •review the curriculum so that there is continuity between and across phases to ensure it develops the relevant skills and knowledge that students need as they progress through the school.
- •Incorporate experiential and inquiry-based learning opportunities in subjects to enhance student engagement and understanding.
- •Improve students’ innovation and creativity skills in lessons and their entrepreneurship skills.
- •Enhance the adaptability of the curriculum to address the needs of students with different learning styles and abilities, including higher-ability students.
- •Improve the impact of leadership and management by strengthening self-evaluation so that evaluations are accurate and reliable and consider all stakeholders’ views.
- •Ensure all leaders at all levels are focused on increasing student achievement and demonstrate secure knowledge of best practices in teaching, learning, and assessment.
- •Align the monitoring of teaching in lessons and the quality of achievements with the UAE School Inspection Framework.
- •Ensure leadership is focused on delivering effective provision for students with additional learning needs, including students of determination.
- •Ensure sufficient learning resources in all subjects, including the use of technology.