Iranian Salman Farsi Boys School
Executive Summary
Iranian Salman Farsi Boys School is an Iranian-curriculum boys' school located in Al Qusais, Dubai, established in 1995 and serving students from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Following the 2023-2024 DSIB inspection, the school was awarded an overall rating of Acceptable, a result consistent with its performance across multiple previous inspection cycles.
Academically, science stands out as the strongest subject across all phases, with good attainment and progress from Primary through High. English attainment is good across all phases, while mathematics shows stronger performance in the High phase. Arabic as an Additional Language remains at an acceptable level across Primary and Middle. The High phase benefits from specialist teachers with secure subject knowledge and higher expectations, resulting in better-than-expected student progress in science and mathematics.
The school demonstrates strong parental engagement, rated Very Good, with parents actively contributing resources and supporting school life. Key areas requiring development include strengthening self-evaluation processes, improving the use of assessment data to inform teaching, and ensuring targeted professional development for all leaders and teachers. The newly appointed principal is engaging with stakeholders to develop the school's vision.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Iranian Salman Farsi Boys School Overall Rating
Acceptable for 11+ 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 provides a welcoming and nurturing environment for students of determination, with a specialist support unit for those with complex needs. Assessment procedures are in place to identify a wide range of needs, and parents highly value the personalised support provided. Arrangements for identifying gifted and talented students are still being developed. specialist support unitstudents of determinationpersonalised support
Leaders are committed to wellbeing principles and the school has introduced the Wednesday Wellbeing initiative to promote healthy lifestyle choices. However, limited use of surveys has hindered the gathering of secure data, and wellbeing is not yet fully embedded across all features of teaching and learning. Curriculum planning that accounts for student wellbeing remains underdeveloped. Wednesday Wellbeinghealthy lifestylewellbeing principles
The school offers UAE Social Studies and Moral Education based on the Moral, Social and Cultural Studies (MSCS) framework, delivered for 90 minutes weekly across Grades 1 to 12. Teachers use varied strategies including groupwork, debating, and self-assessment to engage students with social values and UAE heritage. Students demonstrate a clear understanding of Islamic values and positive attitudes towards UAE culture and traditions. UAE Social StudiesMoral EducationMSCS framework
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Science Excellence
Good teaching and curriculum design in the High phase has resulted in students making better-than-expected progress in science and mathematics, with the effective use of laboratory-based lessons supporting strong investigative skills.
Strong Learning Skills
Students in Middle and High demonstrate good learning skills, particularly in science, showing effective collaboration, critical thinking, and commitment to their studies.
Positive Student Attitudes
Students across the school display courteous behaviour, respect for the UAE, and regular involvement in their community, with high levels of self-discipline especially in Middle and High phases.
Parental Partnership
The school benefits from a very good level of partnership with parents, who actively participate in school life, volunteer their time, and have provided resources including air conditioning units, computers, and science facilities.
Inclusive Support
The school provides personalised support for students of determination, including those with complex needs, through a specialist unit that is highly valued by both parents and students.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Science is the strongest subject across all phases. Mathematics and English show stronger performance in the High phase. Arabic as an Additional Language remains Acceptable across Primary and Middle.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The newly appointed principal is actively engaging with stakeholders to develop the school's vision and improve the quality of provision. While the school has maintained its inspection judgements from the previous cycle, leadership roles lack sufficient clarity to drive accountability for student outcomes. Governors have identified key priorities including embedding wellbeing, more rigorous monitoring of teaching and learning, and improving resources and facilities.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Science is the strongest subject across all phases with consistently Good attainment and progress, supported by effective laboratory use. English attainment is Good across all phases, while mathematics performs best in the High phase. Arabic as an Additional Language remains Acceptable, with speaking and listening outperforming reading and writing skills.
Personal Development
Students demonstrate positive attitudes towards school, high levels of self-discipline, and respectful relationships with staff and peers. They show a clear understanding of Islamic values and positive attitudes towards UAE heritage and culture. Students in Middle and High display particularly strong personal development, rated Very Good.
Teaching Quality
Teaching is strongest in the High phase where specialist teachers have secure subject knowledge and higher expectations. Across Primary and Middle, there is inconsistency in matching learning activities to students' needs and abilities. Assessment outcomes do not yet sufficiently inform planning for teaching and learning across the school.
Protection & Care
Effective policies and systems ensure the safety and protection of students and staff, with Good ratings across all phases for health and safety and care and support. The school provides a welcoming environment for students of determination through a specialist support unit. A noted gap is that not all new staff are familiar with child protection arrangements.
Areas for Development
- •Ensure assessment results of individual subjects are analysed in detail to meet the needs of all groups of students, particularly in Arabic, English and mathematics.
- •Ensure all leaders and teachers understand and implement the expectations of high-quality teaching as outlined in the KHDA School Inspection Framework.
- •Ensure that the self-evaluation processes are analytical, comprehensive and reliable, and inform a strategic approach to school improvement priorities.
- •governors must provide resources and ensure targeted professional training for leaders and teachers.
- •Ensure relevant data is gathered from the whole school community, with emphasis on students' social and emotional needs, and develop curriculum planning across all phases to ensure wellbeing is prioritised.
- •Ensure all new staff are familiar with the child protection arrangements and that procedures are firmly in place to identify students with gifts and talents.