Dubai Schools - Al Khawaneej
KHDA Inspection Report & Ratings
Last updated
Executive Summary
The overall quality of education provided by Dubai Schools Corporation Al Khawaneej L.L.C is rated as Acceptable for the 2023-2024 academic year. Attainment in English, science, and mathematics is weak across elementary and middle phases, and in Arabic in the middle phase. However, progress is generally acceptable in all subjects, with girls showing better outcomes.
Students exhibit positive attitudes, responsible behavior, and respectful relationships with staff. They demonstrate a growing understanding of Islamic values and appreciate Emirati heritage, though their awareness of other world cultures is limited. Students show a developing sense of personal responsibility and commitment to school values, along with an awareness of environmental issues.
The school ensures staff are trained in safeguarding and child protection, maintaining well-kept facilities and rigorous transport supervision. Leadership sets a clear direction, with professional development improving teaching quality. However, challenges persist with classroom space, staffing for English language learners, and inconsistent support for students of determination and those with gifts and talents.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Dubai Schools Corporation Al Khawaneej L.L.C Overall Rating
Acceptable
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.
Provision and outcomes for students of determination are acceptable. While identification of needs is accurate, a lack of literacy assessments hinders effective targeted interventions. Parents are partners, but engagement varies, and support for students of determination is affected by inconsistent staffing quality and unclear individual education plan goals. students of determinationliteracy starting pointsindividual education plans
The overall quality of wellbeing provision and outcomes is acceptable. Leaders prioritize wellbeing for staff, students, and parents, with a recently appointed wellbeing governor. While staff training programs are in place, their impact is variable, and opportunities for students and parents to influence the school's wellbeing vision are limited. Students feel safe and supported, contributing to their wellbeing. wellbeing visionstaff training programshealthier lifestyles
Overall school standards in the National Agenda Parameter are acceptable. The school registers students for reading and core subject benchmarking but has not registered for cognitive ability testing. International and benchmark achievement is weak, with no progression in attainment for English, mathematics, and science. Leadership identifies knowledge gaps and adjusts the curriculum, but teachers' understanding of how to assist weaker readers is inconsistent. international assessmentsreading literacyEmirati cohortsMAP testing
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Responsible Attitudes
Students consistently demonstrate responsible attitudes, respectful relationships, and regular attendance, contributing positively to the school environment.
Health & Safety
The school maintains robust arrangements to ensure students’ health, safety, security, and welfare, including well-maintained facilities and rigorous transport supervision.
Effective Management
The day-to-day management of the school is effective, with clear procedures and routines ensuring smooth operations and a well-organized learning environment.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Attainment is weak in English, science, and mathematics across elementary and middle phases, and in Arabic in the middle phase. Progress is acceptable overall in all subjects, and better for girls. Students' critical thinking and independent learning skills are constrained by limited reading and research abilities.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
Leaders at Dubai Schools Corporation Al Khawaneej L.L.C provide a clear direction, striving for academic excellence through defined roles and professional development. They effectively use self-evaluation to inform improvement plans and monitor teaching quality, with the governing board ensuring accountability. However, they face ongoing challenges with parent engagement, staff turnover, and resource allocation for specific student needs.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Attainment is weak in English, science, and mathematics across elementary and middle phases, and in Arabic in the middle phase. Overall progress is acceptable, with girls showing better outcomes. Students demonstrate positive attitudes but lack opportunities to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and independent learning skills due to limited reading and research abilities.
Personal Development
Most students exhibit positive and responsible attitudes, appreciating teacher feedback and maintaining respectful relationships. They show a growing understanding of Islamic values and appreciation for Emirati heritage, though their knowledge of wider world cultures is limited. Students are developing a sense of personal responsibility, commitment to school values, and awareness of environmental issues.
Teaching Quality
Most teachers possess secure subject knowledge and create supportive learning environments, particularly in KG. Lesson plans are well-structured, but learning objectives and success criteria are often unclear. Teachers' use of questioning varies, and their expertise in supporting diverse student groups is mixed. Assessment is linked to curriculum standards, but marking quality is variable, and interventions are often imprecise.
Protection & Care
The school has clear policies and trained staff for safeguarding and child protection, with well-maintained facilities and rigorous transport procedures. Healthy lifestyles are promoted, and attendance is good. While systems identify students of determination, classroom support is variable, impacting progress, especially in literacy. Students with gifts and talents are not sufficiently challenged, and an alternative pathway for complex learning needs is not yet available.
Areas for Development
- •Accelerate progress and raise attainment in all subjects.
- •Improve the quality and consistency of teaching, learning and assessment.
- •Ensure that in all lessons the learning needs of all groups of students, particularly students of determination, are met.
- •Ensure that there are sufficient, appropriately skilled, teachers to meet the needs of early English language learners.
- •Ensure consistency in student’s memorization of the Holy Qur’an and their ability to cite the Holy Qur’an and Hadith.
- •Improve the rigor of internal assessments and raise teachers’ expectations so that learning tasks meet the needs of all groups of students.
- •Increase the level of challenge by ensuring that all students speaking and writing skills are at least in line with curriculum expectations.
- •Fully embed all initiatives to improve students’ reading and writing skills more rapidly.
- •Enhance students' linguistic skills by incorporating more language-focused activities in lessons.
- •Encourage students in all lessons to build on their prior knowledge and use their existing vocabulary, to extend their speaking and writing skills.
- •Increase opportunities for students to use spoken English.
- •Improve students’ reading skills and provide more opportunities for students to engage in sustained pieces of written work.
- •Develop the use of learning technologies in the elementary and middle phases to help students address gaps in their knowledge and skills.
- •Raise students' attainment levels on the MAP assessment tests in the elementary and middle phases.
- •Ensure teachers consistently provide students with more opportunities to engage in independent learning and investigations.
- •Ensure that all students are fully engaged when working in groups.
- •Provide students with more opportunities to use technologies to support their learning.
- •Improve students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, research and independent learning skills in all lessons.
- •Improve students’ knowledge and understanding of a wider range of world cultures.
- •Provide more opportunities for students to engage in enterprise and entrepreneurship.
- •Ensure teachers use the available assessment data to provide learning activities that accurately match students’ particular needs.
- •Expand the range and effectiveness of teachers’ behavior management strategies.
- •Improve the rigor of formal assessments in Islamic Education and Arabic.
- •Ensure that curriculum implementation has a more significant impact on improving student outcomes.
- •Provide curriculum adaptations to meet students' different learning needs more effectively.
- •Implement systems to more accurately identify and support students with gifts and talents and provide an appropriate level of challenge in lessons.
- •Ensure that students’ behavior is managed effectively in all lessons.
- •Ensure leaders understand and act upon the gaps in both content and skills identified by MAP testing.
- •Raise students' MAP attainment for English, mathematics and science from weak to at least acceptable.
- •Ensure that staff training is focused on wellbeing initiatives that target students’ social and emotional needs.
- •Provide more opportunities for parents and students to contribute to the school’s vision for wellbeing.
- •Enhance the effectiveness of targeted interventions by ensuring that assessments are used to determine students’ literacy starting points.
- •Ensure that individual education plans (IEPs) identify specific literacy goals and that learning targets are clear enough.