Oxford School
Executive Summary
The Oxford School provides a Good quality of education, demonstrating significant improvements in key areas since the previous inspection. These advancements are particularly notable in the Foundation Stage, where English, mathematics, science, and assessment practices have been strengthened, laying a very secure foundation for future learning.
Students exhibit Good behaviour, fostering friendly and respectful relationships with peers and teachers. They maintain positive attitudes towards healthy lifestyles and show consideration for others, including students of determination, alongside an awareness of environmental issues.
Teaching quality is supported by teachers with secure subject knowledge who plan lessons carefully, increasingly using technology to enhance learning. The curriculum is broad, balanced, and adapted to student needs, offering a suitable range of extra-curricular activities and opportunities to engage with UAE heritage. Robust policies for health education and child protection are effectively communicated and supported by staff training.
Leadership has successfully addressed most issues from the previous report, developing middle management and enhancing parental involvement. Improved self-evaluation and school improvement planning have led to a more strategic approach, contributing to significant advancements in students' achievements.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Oxford School Overall Rating
Good
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 prioritizes inclusive education, led by an experienced team and supported by governors. Effective admissions and screening processes ensure early identification of needs, leading to individualized education plans (IEPs) and strong parent communication. Most students of determination make better than expected personal and academic progress with appropriate support. individualised education plans (IEPs)early and accurate identification
The school's overall wellbeing provision and outcomes are good, with governors showing strong commitment to promoting positive wellbeing. A student-centred approach ensures students feel valued, and data from surveys and feedback inform an action plan for improvement. A weekly wellbeing curriculum and club sessions promote student awareness and positive connection to the school community. student-centred approachwellbeing curriculum programmeprofessional development for staff
The school's overall standards in the National Agenda Parameter are good, exceeding its PIRLS target in 2021 and showing average improvement in benchmark assessments. Leaders use NAP data to design and implement robust action plans focusing on problem-solving and critical thinking. Strategies for improving reading literacy are successful, with weaker readers receiving specialist interventions. PIRLSbenchmark assessmentsproblem-solving and critical thinking
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
FS Academic Improvements
Significant improvements have been made in English, mathematics, science, and assessment practices within the Foundation Stage.
Islamic & Arabic Achievement
Students' achievement in Islamic Education and Arabic has shown notable improvements across the school.
Primary Learning Enhancement
Teaching, learning, curriculum adaptation, English, and mathematics in Primary have all seen improvements.
Safeguarding Excellence
The school maintains very high-quality arrangements for health and safety, and child protection, with a strong focus on student care and support.
Leadership & Self-Evaluation
School leaders, supported by governors and parents, have successfully promoted improvements in self-evaluation and students' achievements.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Significant improvements have been observed in English, mathematics, science, and assessment in Foundation Stage, and in teaching, learning, curriculum adaptation, English, and mathematics in Primary. Students' achievement in Islamic Education and Arabic has also improved.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
The principal and senior leaders have diligently worked to address previous inspection messages, expanding the middle leadership team and increasing parental involvement. Their approach is strategic, with careful oversight of developments and a focus on the impact on students’ achievements and personal development, fostering professional relationships and positive morale.
Inspection Findings
Students' Outcomes
Students' outcomes show significant improvements, particularly in Foundation Stage English, mathematics, science, and assessment. Primary has seen raised standards in key subjects due to better teaching, learning, and curriculum adaptation, with notable progress in Arabic. Students' learning skills are now good across the school.
Personal Development
Students' personal development is very good across all phases, demonstrating positive attitudes, respect, and self-discipline. They have a clear understanding of healthy lifestyles and show strong social responsibility, actively engaging in leadership roles and environmental concerns. Understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture is very good in older phases, with good awareness in FS.
Teaching Quality
Teaching for effective learning is good across all phases, with teachers possessing secure subject knowledge and planning lessons carefully. Assessment practices are consistent, using internal and external data to inform future provision. Recent improvements in FS assessment have enhanced teachers' understanding of individual children's strengths and weaknesses.
Protection & Care
The school provides very good protection, care, guidance, and support for students across all phases. Rigorous safeguarding procedures, including child protection, are in place and effectively communicated. The school ensures a safe physical environment, excellent medical care, and a whole-school approach to pastoral support, including early identification for students of determination and career guidance.
Areas for Development
- •Improve attainment in mathematics in Primary to at least good.
- •Improve transition arrangements between FS and Primary to build more effectively on the strong quality of provision in FS.
- •Ensure that teachers’ expectations are consistently high in relation to students’ punctuality, behaviour and adherence to classroom routines.
- •Establish greater coherence between the school’s self-evaluation and the school improvement planning process, with improvement plans dated, review dates stated, and more measurable targets created.
- •Improve the progress which Emirati students make in their reading and benchmark assessments in order to close the attainment gap with non-Emirati students.
- •Monitor and review the impact of the action plans to improve reading literacy skills across the school, and for Emirati students in particular.
- •Expand the wellbeing team to include representatives of students, teachers and parents.
- •Ensure that the targets in the wellbeing action plan are specific and measurable.
- •Improve even further students’ recitation skills by providing them with more opportunities to recite verses following the appropriate rules.
- •Ensure that all areas of the subject are linked to the Holy Qur’an, the Noble Hadith and Seerah.
- •Encourage students to expand their vocabulary further and then apply it to their written work and speaking.
- •Give students more opportunities to practice all language skills in everyday situations.
- •support and challenge all groups of students in Primary and Secondary.
- •In Primary, provide more opportunities for students to extend their learning above the expected curriculum levels.
- •Continue to ensure appropriate differentiation in lessons, to challenge and support individual students.
- •Encourage a deeper understanding of scientific concepts, critical thinking and independent research skills among students, particularly in Post-16.
- •Ensure that students have even more opportunities for research across all subjects and phases in order to develop their higher-order thinking skills.
- •Improve students’ awareness of world cultures in the lower phases by providing more intercultural activities.
- •Engage even further with the school's local community to form closer ties and networks.
- •Ensure that all teachers provide consistent levels of challenge and support across all subjects and phases.
- •Provide students with written feedback which offers constructive guidance for improvement.
- •Ensure that the curriculum, particularly in Post-16, has the breadth to meet the needs of all students.
- •Involve more students, across all phases, in enhancement, innovation and entrepreneurial activities.
- •Provide additional support and professional training for specific teachers to improve their behaviour management skills.
- •Monitor the effectiveness of the one-way system on the stairs and in corridors to identify how students’ movement around the school can be made safer and even more efficient.
- •Ensure that learning support teachers serve as role models, coaches and professional mentors for classroom teachers.
- •Consider the use of learning support assistants (LSAs) to support classroom teachers and to promote the independence of students of determination.