Hartland International School, Dubai
KHDA Inspection Report & Ratings 2019
Last updated
Executive Summary
The overall quality of education provided by Hartland International School is Very Good. The school demonstrates strong performance across most key areas, with particular strengths in students' personal development, care, and support. The leadership has established a shared vision focused on care, wellbeing, and high standards, fostering a harmonious and nurturing environment.
Students' achievement in English, mathematics, and science is Very Good across most phases, with outstanding progress noted in English and learning skills in the Foundation Stage. The curriculum, based on the National Curriculum for England (NCFE), is broad, balanced, and exceptionally well-designed and implemented, preparing students effectively for their next stages of learning.
The school excels in providing outstanding health and safety, care, and support for students, underpinned by a comprehensive child protection framework and a high priority on student wellbeing. Partnerships with parents and the community are also Outstanding, contributing significantly to the school's success and supportive ethos.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Hartland International School Overall Rating
Very Good for 3+ 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.
Hartland International School maintains a highly inclusive ethos, welcoming students of all backgrounds and abilities. The skilled inclusion team ensures effective support for students of determination, who make strong progress due to carefully planned and modified provision. highly inclusive ethosstudents of determinationstrong progress
Wellbeing is central to the school's ethos, fostering a positive and nurturing environment where students and staff thrive. Leaders use comprehensive data to inform improvement, and extensive programs support a vibrant community, promoting student resilience and responsibility for their own wellbeing. nurturing environmentresiliencewellbeing programs
The school has successfully exceeded National Agenda targets for international assessments, with outstanding progress in PIRLS scores. Students consistently achieve very high scores in benchmark tests for English, mathematics, and science, demonstrating strong progress across the whole school and for Emirati students. exceeded targetsinternational assessmentsbenchmark tests
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
FS English & Learning Skills
Students in the Foundation Stage demonstrate outstanding progress in English and exceptional learning skills.
Personal Development
Students exhibit outstanding personal development, a strong sense of social responsibility, and innovative skills.
Curriculum Design
The school's curriculum is excellently designed and implemented, providing a broad and balanced learning experience.
Health, Safety & Care
Outstanding provisions for health, safety, and the care and support of all students are consistently maintained.
Parent Partnerships
The school fosters excellent partnerships with parents and the wider community, enhancing student support and engagement.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Students' learning skills are consistently very good across all phases, with outstanding performance in the Foundation Stage. Significant improvements in progress have been noted in English, Mathematics, and Science across the school.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
Leaders at Hartland International School have established a clear shared vision emphasizing care, wellbeing, and high standards. They demonstrate secure curriculum knowledge and promote high-quality teaching and learning, while also being very skillful in encouraging active parental participation and ensuring resources are consistently updated.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students demonstrate very good achievement in English, mathematics, and science across most phases, with outstanding progress in FS English. Learning skills are at least very good. However, achievement in Islamic Education and Arabic subjects is acceptable, with attainment in Arabic as a first language being weak in Secondary and Post-16.
Personal Development
Students exhibit outstanding attitudes to learning, exemplary behavior, and high levels of motivation and respect. They show a strong understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture, actively participating in charity work and cultural events. Students also demonstrate outstanding social responsibility and innovation skills through leadership roles and environmental awareness initiatives.
Teaching Quality
Teachers possess strong subject knowledge and employ effective strategies to meet diverse learning needs, fostering critical thinking. Assessment processes have improved, with teachers effectively using outcomes for student engagement and self-assessment. However, independent learning skills are not yet fully embedded across all lessons.
Protection & Care
The school has an outstanding framework for child protection and safeguarding, with robust measures and thorough staff training. Health and safety policies are regularly reviewed, and healthy living is promoted throughout the curriculum. The school is highly inclusive, providing very effective support for students of determination and prioritizing student wellbeing through close monitoring and counselling.
Areas for Development
- •Ensure consistently effective teaching practices so all students achieve well, particularly in Islamic Education and Arabic.
- •Ensure that in lesson planning teachers make full use of assessment information to match learning activities to the needs of students.
- •Establish and regularly review, measurable interim targets in the school’s improvement plan to ensure consistent progress towards the school’s goals.
- •Improve students’ recitation, knowledge and application of the rules of Tajweed.
- •Challenge students to respond to questions with evidence from Holy Qur’an and Hadith.
- •Improve students’ use of modern standard Arabic and their reading and writing skills.
- •Ensure that in all lessons, learning activities meet the linguistic needs of all groups of students.
- •Ensure that the whole MoE curriculum content and topics are delivered in Secondary and Post-16.
- •Improve students speaking and reading comprehension skills in Arabic as an additional language.
- •Ensure that learning activities, and levels of challenge match students’ abilities and years of learning Arabic.
- •Offer opportunities for all students, especially under-performing students, to read texts which build their confidence, increases their vocabulary and improves comprehension.
- •Improve mathematical reasoning in FS and Primary.
- •Improve students’ achievement at Post-16 by identifying prior learning and addressing misconceptions and gaps in their knowledge, skills and understanding.
- •Ensure that teaching strategies in all subjects enable students to become independent and confident learners.
- •Ensure that more students play a central role in organising and initiating activities and events to raise awareness of Islamic values and the Emirati culture.
- •Ensure that teaching strategies develop effective independent learning skills. Ensure that teachers consistently engage students in self-and-peer assessment to support their learning further.
- •Ensure that the MoE curriculum content and topics in Arabic in Secondary and Post-16 are fully compliant.
- •Ensure that all teachers modify the curriculum, particularly in the MoE subjects, to meet the needs of all groups of students.
- •Ensure greater consistency in the delivery of support for students of determination.
- •Enhance school’s systems for tracking the wellbeing and personal development of students.
- •Broaden the support strategies to ensure that all teachers support students of determination in ways that enable them to integrate with their peers but also develop greater independence.
- •Embed the reading literacy strategy to ensure improved student competency reflected in NGRT results.
- •Implement plans to improve Emirati students’ reading literacy to the level of other students.
- •Improve the curriculum mapping of activities so that there is a clear picture of wellbeing scope and progression.