GEMS Winchester School
Executive Summary
GEMS Winchester School has received a Good overall rating for the 2023-2024 academic year, reflecting its commitment to providing a quality UK curriculum education. The school demonstrates strengths in student outcomes, provision for learners, and leadership and management, with notable improvements in key academic areas.
Attainment has improved in Islamic Education, Arabic as an additional language, and mathematics, with students achieving good levels in most core subjects. The curriculum is broad and balanced, offering vocational pathways and an extensive after-school program, while teaching and assessment practices are thorough and effective across phases.
The school places the highest priority on student wellbeing, health, and safety, fostering an inclusive ethos that effectively supports students of determination. Leaders are developing a strong culture of staff training and collaboration with parents, effectively managing resources to drive continuous improvement.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
GEMS Winchester School Overall Rating
Good for 2+ 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.
GEMS Winchester School fosters an ethos of inclusive education, providing support and curricular modifications for students of determination. Effective communication with parents is a priority, ensuring their active engagement in their children's educational programs. While provision for complex learning profiles is generally effective, consistency in adapting lesson planning and delivery varies. inclusive educationstudents of determinationcurricular modificationsparent communication
Leaders at GEMS Winchester School are committed to wellbeing, promoting and modeling its principles through comprehensive policies and a safe environment. Parents are actively engaged, and students have access to skilled adults for support, with precise interventions leading to sustained improvements. The wellbeing curriculum is effectively embedded and customized, fostering high levels of positivity and understanding among students. wellbeing principlessafe environmentparent engagementwellbeing curriculumonline safety
The school's overall standards in the National Agenda Parameter are good, with leaders demonstrating a strong understanding of international assessment proficiency levels. While the school fell short of its PIRLS target, benchmark assessments show improvements in English, science, and mathematics. Interventions are planned to improve reading literacy skills, with most students, including Emirati students, making expected progress. National Agenda Parameterinternational assessmentsPISATIMSSPIRLSreading literacyEmirati cohort
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Leadership Accreditation
The school has successfully established an accreditation programme for developing its own leaders, fostering a learning culture.
Safe Learning Environment
Students benefit from a learning environment where they consistently feel safe and well-supported by staff and peers.
Parent Collaboration
Strong collaboration with parents is evident, actively involving them in supporting their children’s learning and school life.
Responsible Students
Students consistently demonstrate responsible attitudes, contributing positively to the school community and their own development.
Improved Achievements
Significant improvements have been made in students’ achievements in Islamic Education and Arabic as an additional language.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Attainment in Islamic Education, Arabic as an additional language and mathematics has improved, with students attaining a good level in most core subjects and phases. Progress in most core subjects is good. However, attainment is less high in Arabic as a first language, in English in the Foundation Stage, and in English and science in the post-16 phase.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
School leaders are developing a strong ethos of staff training and inclusion, working closely with governors and parents to support school performance. They employ effective methods for gathering information and have a systematic self-evaluation process, leading to focused development plans. While leadership is well distributed and accountabilities are clear, senior leaders' view of overall school performance is noted as insufficiently clear.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Attainment has improved in Islamic Education, Arabic as an additional language, and mathematics, with students achieving good levels in most core subjects and phases. Progress is generally good, though attainment is less high in Arabic as a first language, FS English, and Post-16 English and science. Students' learning skills have developed through extra-curricular activities.
Personal Development
Students demonstrate positive attitudes and improved behavior, with strong relationships and rare incidents of bullying. Their understanding of Islamic values, social responsibility, and innovation skills are very well developed, especially in Post-16. Students actively contribute to school life through the student council and engage in fundraising and environmental sustainability initiatives.
Teaching Quality
Teaching for effective learning is consistently good across all phases, with teachers demonstrating strong subject knowledge and engaging students in active learning. Assessment systems are thorough, providing rich data for planning. However, tasks often lack sufficient challenge, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills are inconsistently developed, particularly in the Foundation Stage.
Protection & Care
The school provides outstanding health and safety, with rigorous procedures for child protection and a safe, well-maintained environment. Medical and PE staff promote healthy lifestyles. Positive and caring relationships ensure teachers are aware of students' emotional and social needs. Effective identification and support for students of determination are noted, alongside comprehensive guidance for careers and higher education.
Areas for Development
- •Improve school self-evaluation and improvement planning, particularly regarding the reliability of progress data measurement.
- •Improve the quality of teaching of language skills, focusing on independent creative writing and detailed textual analysis.
- •Enhance staffing provision to ensure appropriate challenge for all students, especially higher attainers, and to support the development of independent language skills.
- •Ensure that all leaders are well informed about international benchmark assessments and consistently monitor the impact of modifications on student progress.
- •Improve students’ English reading skills, particularly for Emirati students, and extend the program for online safety.
- •Develop training for all teachers on the identification of students who may require wellbeing interventions, moving from reaction to proactive identification.
- •Increase opportunities for students to develop their critical thinking, research, and problem-solving skills consistently across subjects and phases.
- •Improve students’ attainment in external curriculum-related assessments in the post-16 phase, especially in combined science and all three sciences at AS and A Level.
- •Improve assessment processes and the use of assessment information in Foundation Stage to meet the learning needs of all groups of students more effectively.
- •Ensure greater consistency in how teachers modify the curriculum to ensure that learning needs are met in lessons, particularly in Foundation Stage.
- •Improve the identification of students with gifts and talents and provide them with appropriate opportunities and challenge in all lessons.
- •Ensure that the monitoring and tracking of students’ progress inform appropriate classroom provision for students of determination.