International Academic School, Dubai
KHDA Inspection Report & Ratings 2018
Last updated
Executive Summary
The International Academic School provides an Acceptable quality of education, as determined by the 2023-2024 inspection. The school's overall performance is acceptable, with notable strengths in KG achievement in English, mathematics, and science. Students demonstrate positive personal development and a strong awareness of Islamic values and Emirati culture.
While teachers possess strong subject knowledge, there is a need to consistently foster independent learning and effective differentiation across all phases. The curriculum, which integrates California Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and Ministry of Education guidelines, offers a broad range of courses, including Advanced Placement (AP) options in high school.
The school maintains effective safeguarding measures, including child protection training and formal procedures against abuse. Leadership, including the acting principal, prioritizes inclusive education and wellbeing, though governance and stakeholder engagement in self-evaluation require improvement. Punctuality and entrepreneurial skill development are areas for further focus.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
International Academic School Overall Rating
Acceptable for 4+ 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 promotes an inclusive ethos, welcoming students with diverse learning needs. Established processes ensure accurate identification of abilities and barriers to learning, with most students of determination having individual education plans (IEPs). The new head of inclusion is well qualified and experienced, demonstrating capacity for improvement. students of determinationinclusive ethosindividual education plans (IEPs)
Wellbeing provision is led by an experienced counselor, with a team actively promoting student and teacher wellbeing through activities and a dedicated website. Teachers monitor student wellbeing and provide support, fostering trust. Students are aware of their own wellbeing and internet safety, though parental involvement in wellbeing promotion is not yet established. experienced counselorwellbeing websiteinternet safety
The school has exceeded targets in the PIRLS test for the whole school, though the Emirati cohort did not meet their target. Progression in National Agenda Parameter tests for English, mathematics, and science remains weak for both the whole school and Emirati students. Leaders are beginning to use benchmark data to identify areas for improvement, and interventions are in place to improve reading literacy, especially for Emirati students. National Agenda ParameterPIRLSEmirati cohortreading literacy
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
KG Academic Achievement
Strong achievement in English, mathematics, and science in Kindergarten due to effective teaching and learning practices.
Personal Development
Students demonstrate positive personal development, including an awareness of Islamic values and Emirati culture.
Health and Safety
Effective arrangements for health, safety, child protection, and safeguarding are in place across the school.
Academic Performance Breakdown
High school students' achievement in mathematics has declined to acceptable. Apart from KG, students' learning skills lack a solid foundation for achieving better outcomes.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The acting principal and senior leadership team prioritize inclusive education and wellbeing, demonstrating a commitment to supporting students. However, stakeholder engagement in self-evaluation is limited, and improvement plans focus more on task completion than measurable student outcomes. Governance is weak, with high staff turnover negatively affecting curriculum delivery.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
In KG, children show good achievement in English and mathematics, with good progress in science. Progress in MoE subjects has improved, except for weak Arabic (additional language) in middle school. High school mathematics achievement has declined, and learning skills generally lack a solid foundation for better outcomes.
Personal Development
Students demonstrate self-discipline and positive behavior, fostering a supportive environment where bullying is rare. Most students understand and respect others' needs and show good understanding of health and safety. While some students exhibit responsible leadership, punctuality remains a challenge, and entrepreneurial skills are insufficiently developed, especially in Elementary and Middle phases.
Teaching Quality
Teachers generally possess strong subject knowledge but struggle with consistently fostering independent learning and effective differentiation. KG children actively engage in lessons, but teachers' questioning lacks depth. Assessment processes are consistent, with KG assessment being particularly effective, though alignment between internal and external assessments remains a challenge.
Protection & Care
The school implements effective safeguarding measures, including child protection training and formal procedures against abuse and online risks. Safety and hygiene are prioritized, with regular checks and supervision, though dismissal procedures are challenging. Ineffective classroom management in some lessons impacts learning, despite adequate support systems and interventions for students’ learning needs.
Areas for Development
- •Ensure governors fulfil their statutory obligations by appointing a permanent school principal and recruit teachers of high quality.
- •Improve the quality of teaching and learning in all subject areas.
- •Use assessment information to plan and implement lessons that challenge all students.
- •Improve leaders’ capacity to address potential barriers associated with the school's demographic intake, drive improvement and contribute to sustained student outcomes.
- •Improve the self-evaluation process by developing leaders’ capacity to bring about improvement.
- •Improve performance in the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test by raising the profile and stressing the importance of these tests, both with students and parents.
- •Ensure that all leaders analyze assessment data carefully in order to identify areas for improvement.
- •Ensure that the Emirati students are performing, at least, in line with all other groups of students in the school.
- •Improve data collection and analysis, and their use to improve the provision of wellbeing.
- •Design and implement a structured curriculum to guide the wellbeing initiatives.
- •Seek feedback from parents and engage them in the development of their own and their children's wellbeing.
- •Ensure that students link all areas of Islamic learning to the Holy Qur’an, the Nobel Hadith and Seerah.
- •Improve students’ Holy Qur’anic memorization and recitation skills by providing more opportunities for them to practice.
- •Provide students with more opportunities to link their learning to everyday situations.
- •Ensure that all students improve their written work by redrafting and editing their independent creative writing.
- •Improve students' use of the available resources to develop their language skills, and especially their speaking skills.
- •Improve students' confidence in speaking, reading, and writing at the expected level for their years of study.
- •Improve students' understanding of word intonations.
- •Improve students’ reading skills by providing more regular and systematic support and monitoring in lessons.
- •Enable more able students to achieve their potential to write extensively and read texts in greater depth.
- •Improve the reading and writing skills of boys and Emirati students.
- •Raise teachers' expectations so that students can deepen their understanding and application of mathematical learning and reach their full potential.
- •Ensure that all students achieve well by applying their learning to solving word problems.
- •Increase the levels of challenge and rigor in learning for all students, so that all achieve their full potential.
- •Challenge all students in lessons by providing them with more opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning.
- •Engage students in activities which promote their critical thinking, inquiry and innovation skills.
- •Ensure that students arrive punctually to school at the beginning of the day.
- •Raise students' awareness and understanding of wider world cultures.
- •Encourage more leadership opportunities for all students.
- •Ensure that all teachers understand the importance of assessment to help them to plan to meet the needs of all groups of students.
- •Require teachers to plan open-ended activities which promote independent learning and allow students to work at their own pace and levels.
- •Improve teachers' use of questioning.
- •Improve the implementation of the curriculum to provide a balance of knowledge, skills and understanding, and to promote innovation and challenge.
- •Ensure that curriculum modifications meet the individual needs of all groups of students.
- •Monitor the effectiveness of the new security practices and remedy any potential issues.
- •Provide additional support and strategies to improve the behavior management skills of teachers who are experiencing difficulties.
- •Provide high-quality and effective academic and careers guidance for high school students.
- •Ensure that the school’s provision for students of determination is consistently good or better.
- •Ensure that teachers consistently adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of all students of determination.
- •Ensure that students of determination are consistently challenged to achieve their full potential.