Capital School
Executive Summary
Capital School, following the UK Curriculum, has maintained a Good overall quality of education in its latest inspection for 2023-2024. The school provides a secure and supportive environment, fostering positive student attitudes and responsible behaviour.
The Foundation Stage demonstrates Very Good provision and outcomes, preparing children exceptionally well for future learning. Progress in English, mathematics, and science is Good in Primary and Secondary, with attainment in mathematics and science also rated Good. Students' learning skills are particularly strong in the Foundation Stage.
Students exhibit highly responsible behaviour and personal development, supported by Very Good care and support across all phases. Leadership has positively impacted student outcomes, though self-evaluation requires more accuracy to provide a secure platform for improvement planning.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Capital School 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.
Leaders and governors promote an inclusive ethos with appropriate facilities and staff. Formal and informal assessments identify needs, and individual educational plans (IEPs) are developed for students with significant needs. Parental engagement is strong, and targeted support ensures involvement in learning activities. IEPstargeted support
The school provides a caring and supportive ethos where students and staff interact positively. Leaders are developing an understanding of wellbeing as a national priority, with staff deployed to promote and implement policy. Student and parent surveys inform improvement planning, and a counsellor offers support for social and emotional issues. caring and supportive ethosWellbeing Wednesday
The school has successfully exceeded challenging targets in international assessments for English, mathematics, and science. Leaders analyze benchmark data to adapt the curriculum and focus on improving reading habits through various initiatives, though measurable targets for reading literacy impact are needed. international assessmentsreading literacy
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Strong FS Outcomes
The Foundation Stage demonstrates very good provision and outcomes, effectively preparing children for their next educational phase.
Responsible Students
Students across all phases consistently exhibit highly responsible behaviour and strong personal development.
Exceptional Student Care
The school provides a very high quality of care and support, fostering mutually respectful relationships and promoting openness and trust.
Academic Performance Breakdown
The school demonstrates very high achievement in the Foundation Stage, with good progress in core subjects across Primary and Secondary. Attainment in English remains acceptable in Primary and Secondary, while Arabic subjects show improved progress but acceptable attainment.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The principal provides clear leadership with a vision for high-quality inclusive education, focusing on UAE national priorities and respecting Emirati culture. Senior leaders demonstrate strong professional understanding, supporting middle leaders to drive improvements. They use assessment data extensively for self-evaluation, though interpretations can be over-optimistic.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
In the Foundation Stage, children achieve very highly across all subjects. Progress in core subjects like English, mathematics, and science is good in Primary and Secondary, with attainment in mathematics and science also rated good. Learning skills are particularly strong in FS, and students demonstrate innovative capabilities across phases.
Personal Development
Students across all phases exhibit very responsible behaviour, showing understanding and appreciation for Islamic values and UAE culture. They enjoy creative opportunities, especially in art and music, and are increasingly self-reliant. Relationships with staff are very positive, and attendance is very good.
Teaching Quality
Very effective teaching and assessment in the Foundation Stage secure high achievement through child-led learning. In Primary and Secondary, improved teaching and assessment are leading to increasing progress in most core subjects, with common lesson planning approaches. However, consistency in implementation and alignment of internal and external assessments vary.
Protection & Care
Good arrangements ensure the health and safety of the school community, with effective child protection procedures and mutually respectful relationships fostering trust. Teachers know their students well, providing effective care and support. Rigorous systems identify students of determination, but support for higher attainers and gifted students is limited.
Areas for Development
- •Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and raise progress and attainment in all core subjects in Primary and Secondary.
- •Base school self-evaluation on accurate information and provide a secure platform for improvement planning.
- •Make more effective use of assessment information to guide curriculum modifications in order to address gaps in students’ learning.
- •Ensure that science laboratories are well resourced and there are sufficient Arabic texts in the library.
- •Evaluate the impact of the actions being taken to improve students' reading literacy.
- •Ensure that full use is made of the information contained in the external benchmark assessment reports.
- •Enable students to contribute more to their own and others’ wellbeing through opportunities to devise their own initiatives.
- •Improve progress and raise attainment in Islamic Education.
- •Improve students’ Holy Qur’an memorisation and recitation following Tajweed rules.
- •Improve students’ speaking and creative writing in Arabic as a First Language, through consistently high-quality teaching.
- •Ensure that students with gaps in Arabic as a First Language, especially those in Secondary, benefit from intensive interventions.
- •Improve students’ speaking and writing skills in Arabic as an Additional Language by providing more opportunities for them to practise the language more freely and extensively.
- •Increase opportunities for students to use Arabic in lessons.
- •Raise attainment in English in Primary and Secondary.
- •Provide more opportunities for all students to develop their critical thinking in response to a broader range of texts in English.
- •Increase opportunities for innovation, enterprise and research in mathematics lessons.
- •Embed appropriately challenging practical work in all phases to develop skills and improve independent investigative work in Science.
- •Foster students' independent exploration and use of technology to support their learning skills.
- •Provide more opportunities for students to link their learning to the wider world.
- •Provide experiences that will deepen students’ understanding of a broad range of world cultures, particularly in Primary.
- •Provide more opportunities for younger students to take on roles of responsibility in school.
- •Investigate and reconcile differences between internal and external assessments.
- •Give students clear guidance on how to improve their work.
- •Ensure that learning activities challenge and extend students’ thinking, especially the higher attaining and the gifted and talented.
- •Strengthen cross-curricular links to consolidate the transfer of learning between subjects.
- •Ensure that curriculum adaptations meet the learning needs of all students.
- •Provide more opportunities for students to develop and apply creative and innovative skills.
- •Develop strategies for taking account of students’ views in carrying out risk assessments and in the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
- •Improve the level of support for higher attaining and for gifted and talented students.
- •Implement programmes and interventions to meet the needs of students with gifts and talents and involve parents in the process.