Creative British School
Executive Summary
Creative British School received an overall Acceptable rating in its ADEK Irtiqa inspection for the 2023-2024 academic year. This rating has remained consistent since the previous inspection. However, the school has faced challenges including instability in senior leadership, high teacher turnover, and a significant influx of students, which have hindered planned improvements.
While most aspects of performance are rated Acceptable, students in the Post-16 phase demonstrate Good progress in English, mathematics, and science, supported by effective curriculum adaptation. The school also shows robust procedures for pastoral care and inclusivity for students learning English as an additional language, and strong partnerships with parents.
Key areas for development include raising students' attainment and progress across all subjects and phases, improving the quality of teaching and assessment, enhancing health and safety procedures, and strengthening school leadership and governance. The school is working on strategies to improve critical thinking and inquiry-based learning, but consistent implementation remains a challenge.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Creative British School Overall Rating
Acceptable
ADEK Performance Standards
The six Irtiqa inspection standards used by ADEK to evaluate school performance across Abu Dhabi.
Students' achievement is generally acceptable, with some areas showing regression since the previous inspection, particularly in English, Arabic as a second language, Mathematics, and Science in certain phases. However, students in the Post-16 phase demonstrate good progress in English, Mathematics, and Science. Internal assessment data often overestimates actual observed knowledge and skills. Post-16 phase
Students' personal development, understanding of Islamic values, awareness of Emirati and world cultures, and social responsibility and innovation skills are consistently rated as acceptable across all phases. Students demonstrate adequate understanding and engagement in these areas.
Teaching for effective learning is acceptable overall, but has regressed in phases 2 and 3. Assessment practices are acceptable but lack rigor in data analysis and use to inform instruction. While training has been provided for questioning, higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving opportunities are inconsistently applied across subjects and phases.
Curriculum design and implementation are acceptable, with good adaptation in the Post-16 phase to meet diverse student needs. However, modifications to incorporate practical activities and real-world applications for critical thinking are not yet consistently implemented across all phases and subjects. Post-16 phase
Health and safety, including child protection and safeguarding, and care and support, have regressed from good to acceptable in most phases. Facilities are clean but crowded, with a lack of regular hazard checks and accessibility for mobility issues. Insufficient qualified support staff and ineffective attendance strategies hinder student care and progress.
Leadership and management, including self-evaluation, governance, and resources, have regressed from good to acceptable. Instability in the senior leadership team, high staff turnover, and several senior vacancies have prevented consistent improvement. Improvement plans are not fully implemented, and monitoring of teaching and learning needs to focus more on student outcomes.
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Post-16 Academic Progress
Students in the Post-16 phase consistently make good progress in English, Mathematics, and Science, demonstrating a growing sense of responsibility.
Curriculum Adaptation
The curriculum is effectively implemented and adapted in the Post-16 phase to meet the diverse needs of all students at this level.
Pastoral Care & Inclusivity
The school has robust procedures in place for pastoral care and ensuring inclusivity, particularly for students who learn English as an additional language (EAL).
Parent Partnerships
Strong partnerships with parents are a notable strength, enriching students’ learning experiences and contributing positively to the school community.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Changes in students’ achievement are attributed to inconsistencies in teacher quality and the challenge of upskilling new teachers lacking foundational subject skills. There is a discrepancy between internal assessment data and observed student knowledge and skills in lessons.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The leadership team faces significant challenges due to instability, high teacher turnover, and numerous senior vacancies. While improvement plans are in place, their full implementation and impact on student outcomes are hindered by these factors, leading to a regression in overall leadership effectiveness.
Inspection Findings
Students' Achievement
Students' attainment and progress are generally acceptable, with notable strengths in Post-16 English, Mathematics, and Science. However, there are inconsistencies across phases and subjects, with some areas showing regression. Internal assessment data often does not align with observed student performance in lessons.
Personal & Social Development
Students demonstrate acceptable personal development, understanding of Islamic values, awareness of Emirati and world cultures, and social responsibility and innovation skills across all phases. Students exhibit appropriate behavior and attitudes.
Teaching & Assessment
Teaching quality is inconsistent, particularly in Arabic-medium subjects and lower phases, and assessment data is not rigorously used to personalize learning. Opportunities for higher-order thinking and problem-solving are limited, and teachers' questioning skills need further development.
Curriculum Design & Adaptation
The curriculum is designed and implemented acceptably, with effective adaptation for Post-16 students. However, modifications to integrate practical activities and real-world applications for critical thinking are not consistently applied across all phases, limiting deeper learning experiences.
Protection, Care & Support
Health and safety procedures, including child protection, care, and support, are acceptable but have regressed in most phases. Issues include crowded facilities, insufficient support staff, lack of systematic hazard checks, and ineffective strategies to improve student attendance and provide adequate support for all learning needs.
Areas for Development
- •Raise students’ attainment and progress to a consistently good or better level in all subjects and phases by accelerating progress in speaking and presenting in both Arabic and English, reinforcing standard Arabic, enhancing writing skills across diverse genres, emphasizing accurate spelling and grammar, and improving reading comprehension and reading-aloud proficiency.
- •Improve the quality of teaching for learning and assessment to reach at least good levels by raising teachers’ expectations, ensuring consistent lesson plan application with active learning, rigorously using assessment data to personalize learning, sharing rubrics for self/peer assessment, embedding self-reflection tools, and extending tracker systems for constructive feedback.
- •Improve health and safety procedures and the protection, care, guidance, and support provided for students by ensuring systematic and rigorous health and safety checks, improving the physical environment for accessibility, promoting healthy eating and fitness, enhancing student attendance, fostering an inclusive environment, and reviewing provision for additional learning needs.
- •Improve the school leadership and management, and governance, to raise effectiveness to at least good levels by updating development plans with accurate assessment information, improving monitoring of teaching impact, modifying the curriculum more extensively, investing in continuous professional development for staff, addressing staff vacancies, and extending community connections.