Dubai International Academy Albarsha
Executive Summary
The overall quality of education provided by Dubai International Academy Albarsha is rated as Very Good for the 2023-2024 academic year. The school demonstrates a strong commitment to students' personal development, fostering responsible attitudes, self-discipline, and tolerance. An ethos of caring and wellbeing is consistently evident throughout the school community.
Academically, children from Kindergarten onwards achieve exceptionally well in English, mathematics, and science, with learning skills rated Outstanding in KG and Very Good in other phases. The IB curriculum is coherent and well-structured, offering effective progression and a widening range of pathways for older students, including the Careers-related Programme (CP) and vocationally oriented courses.
Leadership continues to have a significant positive impact on school outcomes, supported by accurate self-evaluation and effective improvement plans. The school maintains strong partnerships with parents and the community, and its facilities and resources have been enhanced to meet diverse student needs. Provision for students of determination is improving, with highly effective identification and appropriate interventions.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Dubai International Academy Albarsha Overall Rating
Very Good
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 demonstrates a strong commitment to creating an inclusive environment, with rigorous procedures for identifying students of determination. The well-qualified inclusion lead provides training and workshops for staff and parents, resulting in very good or outstanding progress for students of determination in relation to their learning goals. students of determinationinclusive environmentindividual education plans (IEPs)
Wellbeing is central to the school’s philosophy, supported by clear policies and initiatives, and informed by data from student, parent, and staff surveys. A comprehensive, age-appropriate wellbeing program covers all phases, fostering a positive learning environment where students understand mental, physical, and emotional health. wellbeing programmental, physical and emotional healthpositive learning environment
The school's performance in international assessments like PIRLS has shown improvement, exceeding targets. Whole school progression in benchmark assessments is very good in English and outstanding in mathematics and science. Rigorous analysis of assessment outcomes identifies curriculum gaps and informs action planning for National Agenda targets, with a strong reading culture developing across the school. PIRLSNational Agenda targetsreading literacyEmirati cohort
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Student Responsibility & Values
Students demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility, a good work ethic, and a well-developed understanding of Islamic values and UAE culture and society.
Positive Stakeholder Impact
The school benefits significantly from the positive impact of students' and parents' views, which are actively considered in school development.
Coherent IB Curriculum
The curriculum is coherent and well-structured, offering a widening range of pathways for older students, including the Careers-related Programme (CP) and vocational options.
Strong KG Start
Children in Kindergarten make a very positive start to their education, laying a strong foundation for future learning.
Committed Leadership
The leadership team demonstrates strong commitment and drive, significantly improving school outcomes and fostering a positive community spirit.
Academic Performance Breakdown
From the Kindergarten (KG) onwards, children achieve exceptionally well in English, mathematics and science. Students’ progress is good in Islamic Education, and attainment is acceptable. In Arabic as a first language, progress is acceptable in MYP and good in PYP and DP. Attainment is acceptable in all three phases. In Arabic as an additional language, progress and achievement are good in PYP and acceptable in MYP. Learning skills are outstanding in KG and very good in the other phases.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
Senior leaders are effective in implementing improvement strategies, closely aligned with the school's mission and values, and have developed a palpable community spirit. They maintain a systematic and accurate self-evaluation process, leading to effective development plans and substantial improvement. The leadership fosters strong partnerships with parents and the community, ensuring effective communication and expanding links with the wider community.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students achieve exceptionally well in English, mathematics, and science from KG onwards, with learning skills rated outstanding in KG and very good in other phases. They demonstrate very positive and responsible attitudes, excellent understanding of safe and healthy lifestyles, Islamic values, and Emirati culture, contributing to high attendance and punctuality.
Personal Development
Students exhibit excellent behavior, genuine concern for others, and a clear understanding of safety. They enjoy excellent relationships with staff, feel safe and valued, and are self-disciplined. They have a clear understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture, and enthusiastically take on leadership roles, participating in volunteer programs and environmental initiatives.
Teaching Quality
Teaching is very good across the school, with notable improvement in MYP and some outstanding lessons in PYP. Teachers possess thorough subject knowledge and use time and resources effectively. Assessment strategies are effective and follow IB criteria, with rigorous analysis of external and internal data to track individual performance and plan support.
Protection & Care
The school has comprehensive and rigorous policies for safeguarding, including internet safety, with well-resourced and regularly reviewed security measures. Buildings and facilities are carefully maintained, and health and safety are effectively promoted. Identification of students of determination is robust, and support for these groups has improved, alongside significantly developed careers guidance.
Areas for Development
- •Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and raise attainment in Islamic Education and Arabic.
- •Further improve the consistency of teaching by making more effective use of assessment data to plan learning activities that match the learning needs of all groups of students.
- •Enhance current strategies to improve reading outcomes for all students.
- •Improve Emirati students’ outcomes in external mathematics benchmark assessments.
- •Display signs clearly indicating the locations of for counsellors, medical staff and wellbeing leads across the school.
- •Develop students’ abilities to support their responses by evidence from the Holy Qur’an and Hadith.
- •Modify the curriculum and the use of assessment to provide appropriately challenging learning activities, especially for the more able.
- •Improve students’ progress and attainment by raising teachers’ expectations and using assessments that measure all four language skills.
- •Ensure that appropriate attention is given to the development and use of standard Arabic.
- •Provide MYP students with more opportunities to initiate and maintain discussions in Arabic, and for independent writing on different topics.
- •Ensure that assessment procedures take more account of the number of years that students have been learning Arabic.
- •Consolidate the improvements made in KG and further improve students’ performance in the other phases.
- •Ensure that students’ skills in problem-solving are further developed and embedded as they progress through the school.
- •Ensure that teaching in MYP builds upon the strong mathematical skills demonstrated by students in PYP.
- •Ensure that all students experience regular open-ended practical investigations to prepare them appropriately for the requirements of DP.
- •Develop and apply learning skills in all subjects.
- •Develop KG children’s appreciation and understanding of the role and values of Islam in UAE society.
- •Further involve students in volunteer activities that have positive social or environmental impacts within local communities.
- •Ensure that learning challenges for more able students are consistently planned and delivered.
- •Ensure that feedback procedures are consistently applied to engage students fully in the evaluative process.
- •Ensure that curriculum modifications that appear in lesson planning are effectively implemented to meet the learning needs of all students.
- •Fully embed the most recent curriculum changes and improvements.
- •Ensure consistent and appropriate support for students of determination and those with gifts and talents in all lessons.
- •Embed the interventions now in place for classroom inclusion across the school.
- •Ensure that the school is suitably equipped to support students of determination with more complex needs.
- •Improve the capacity of middle leaders to support the continuing growth and development of the school.
- •Strengthen middle leaders' role in the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning.
- •Monitor the growth of the school to ensure that appropriate learning pathways are available for all students.