GEMS Our Own English High School, Dubai
KHDA Inspection Report & Ratings 2019
Last updated
Executive Summary
The overall quality of education provided by GEMS Our Own English High School is rated as Very Good. The school demonstrates strong and excellent student achievement across most core subjects, particularly in the Middle and Secondary phases. Significant improvements have been noted in Arabic achievement in Primary and Middle over the last year.
Students display high levels of confidence, maturity, and keenness in their learning, with student leadership being Outstanding. Teachers consistently apply strong subject knowledge, leading to high engagement, especially in Middle and Secondary. The curriculum is well-designed, offering a wide range of academic and vocational choices, supported by rigorous safeguarding procedures and effective wellbeing services.
Leadership and management are rated Very Good, with the principal and senior team fostering a purposeful learning community that values inclusivity and wellbeing. They have successfully improved outcomes in core subjects, particularly mathematics, and maintain effective partnerships with parents and the community.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
GEMS Our Own English High School Overall Rating
Very Good for 7+ 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.
The school demonstrates a strong commitment to inclusivity, welcoming students of all abilities. Comprehensive systems are in place for identifying students of determination and those with gifts and talents. Effective partnerships with parents are central to provision, though consistent implementation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) in lessons remains an area for development. students of determinationgifts and talentsIndividual Education Plans
Leaders show a strong commitment to wellbeing, reflected in policies and practice. The wellbeing team ensures stakeholders understand the school's approach, with students actively participating in initiatives. Students benefit from a nurturing classroom environment that fosters a sense of belonging and promotes resilience and confidence. wellbeing teamnurturing classroom environmentresilience, confidence
The school has successfully exceeded National Agenda targets for international assessments, with outstanding achievement in international and benchmark tests for the whole school. A comprehensive action plan is in place, effectively using assessment data to challenge learners and identify gifted students. Reading literacy skills are generally in line with or exceed age-related expectations, with ongoing efforts to improve lower primary. International AssessmentBenchmark Achievementreading literacy
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Vision for Inclusivity
Senior leaders champion a vision for an inclusive learning community, actively promoting diversity and the wellbeing of all students and staff.
Strong Student Achievement
Students consistently achieve very strong results across core subjects, with particular excellence observed in the Middle and Secondary phases.
Excellent Personal Development
Students demonstrate excellent personal development, positive attitudes towards learning, and a strong willingness to embrace leadership roles.
Effective School Management
The school's management ensures a highly effective and conducive learning environment, prioritizing the safety and security of both students and staff.
Engaged Governance & Parents
The Local Advisory Board is well-informed and committed to school improvement, actively engaging parents as partners in their children's learning journey.
Academic Performance Breakdown
There continues to be strong and excellent student achievement across most core subjects, particularly in Middle and Secondary. Significant improvements have been made in students’ achievement in Arabic in Primary and Middle over the last year. Older students demonstrate high-level learning skills, independence, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The principal and senior leadership team have established a purposeful learning community that provides a caring environment valuing inclusivity and wellbeing. They model best educational practices and are successful in initiating and supporting positive student outcomes, particularly in improving core subjects like mathematics.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students demonstrate strong and excellent achievement across most core subjects, with significant improvements in Arabic. They exhibit high-level learning skills, independence, critical thinking, and problem-solving, with outstanding personal development and leadership capabilities across all phases.
Personal Development
Students display outstanding personal development, self-discipline, and respect, acting as excellent ambassadors for the school. They show keenness in learning, high confidence, and maturity, actively participating in student leadership and demonstrating strong social responsibility and innovation skills.
Teaching Quality
Teachers consistently apply secure subject knowledge and plan purposeful lessons, leading to very high student engagement, especially in Middle and Secondary. The school uses effective processes for assessment data analysis, though assessment for learning in KG and consistent written feedback across the school require further embedding.
Protection & Care
The school has rigorous procedures for student safety and security, with outstanding health and safety arrangements and effective child protection. Care and support are very good, with exemplary staff-student relationships and highly effective counselling services, though consistent implementation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students of determination needs improvement.
Areas for Development
- •Identify and share best practices in teaching and learning across the school, especially in KG and Primary.
- •Improve students’ Arabic language skills across the school.
- •Ensure that the school’s improvement plans are monitored regularly for their impact on student outcomes.
- •Improve the implementation of individual education plans of students of determination and those with gifts and talents.
- •Improve students' reading literacy skills in the lower primary phase.
- •Ensure that assessment data is used more effectively in planning and delivering lessons that personalise learning.
- •Ensure that comprehensive data is collected, analysed and monitored, to support appropriate interventions for all.
- •Enhance the monitoring system for recitation and memorisation skills to yield more effective results in students' abilities to recite and memorise.
- •Provide students with a clearer and realistic set of learning targets in all lessons. Improve assessment criteria and success indicators so that student data reflects their true achievement levels.
- •Ensure the appropriate acquisition of all four language skills, particularly in KG and Primary.
- •Embed the consistent use of practical learning materials in KG and Primary to establish and reinforce mathematical concepts. Ensure that students are consistently more active participants in their own learning in the lower phases of the school.
- •Ensure that students, especially in Primary, are provided with more opportunities to learn independently in lessons. Improve KG children's scientific approach by providing them with more opportunities to carry out age-appropriate experiments with greater independence.
- •Expand opportunities for students to be more innovative and enterprising across all phases.
- •Ensure that all groups of students including students of determination are fully supported in lessons.
- •Provide written feedback to students which helps them to improve the quality of their work.
- •Embed assessment-for-learning techniques in KG lessons so that the children’s learning needs are met.
- •Review and update the curriculum in KG so that it impacts even more positively on children's academic and personal progress.
- •Ensure students’ IEPs are fully implemented in all lessons.
- •Provide appropriate training to all teachers to ensure that they are equipped to implement the IEPs of all students of determination, including those and with gifts and talents.
- •Ensure that all leaders have the capacity to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility and how to improve student outcomes.
- •Form more partnerships, both nationally and internationally, to enrich students' learning experiences.
- •Enhance the investment in specialist staffing to support the progress of all students.