Shining star international school
Executive Summary
Shining Star International School has achieved a significant milestone, improving its overall ADEK Irtiqa rating from Acceptable to Good in the 2024-2025 academic year. This positive trajectory reflects the school's commitment to enhancing student learning and experiences across all phases. The school is located in Mohamed Bin Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, and follows an Indian curriculum.
Key academic strengths include enhanced students' achievement across all subjects, with students consistently demonstrating at least good progress. Notably, English achievement has advanced to Very Good in the secondary phase, and Islamic Education and Social Studies are consistently rated Good across all phases. The school actively benchmarks students against international standards through assessments like PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS, showing particular success in PIRLS 2021 where Grade 4 students significantly surpassed international expectations in reading.
The inspection highlights strong leadership, with the principal fostering a collaborative environment focused on continuous improvement. Teachers effectively collaborate, contributing to consistent student achievement, and the school maintains robust procedures for health, safety, welfare, and safeguarding. These collective efforts underscore a supportive and secure learning environment that encourages positive student attitudes and engagement.
Overall School Performance
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Weak
Very Weak
Shining Star International School Overall Rating
Good
ADEK Performance Standards
The six Irtiqa inspection standards used by ADEK to evaluate school performance across Abu Dhabi.
Students' achievement has improved across all subjects and most phases, primarily due to better-than-expected progress in internal assessments. English achievement has notably advanced, reaching Very Good in the secondary phase, while Islamic Education and Social Studies are consistently Good. However, attainment in Arabic as a second language, Mathematics, and Science remains acceptable in some phases, with progress showing improvement. GoodVery GoodIslamic EducationSocial StudiesEnglish
Students' personal development is rated Good across all phases, reflecting responsible attitudes and positive behavior. Their understanding of Islamic values, awareness of Emirati and global cultures, social responsibility, and innovation skills are currently acceptable. There is potential to enhance student involvement in projects and activities to further strengthen their sense of responsibility and engagement. GoodIslamic valuesEmirati and global culturesinnovation skills
Teaching has improved to Good across all phases, attributed to teachers' effective use of varied techniques and differentiated learning opportunities. Teachers adapt lesson plans to support students in meeting expected progress levels. However, assessment practices remain at an Acceptable level, consistent with previous findings, indicating a need for further development in this area. GoodAcceptabledifferentiated learningassessment practices
Curriculum design and implementation are rated Good in KG and Secondary phases, and Acceptable in Primary and Middle phases. Curriculum adaptation is Acceptable across all phases. The school needs to provide more regular and well-planned opportunities for students to make meaningful cross-curricular connections between learning areas in core subjects. GoodAcceptableCurriculum designCurriculum adaptationcross-curricular connections
The school maintains effective procedures for safeguarding students, with robust child protection measures, ensuring health and safety standards remain Good. Care and support for students are rated Acceptable, consistent with the previous inspection. A review and update of Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Additional Learning Plan (ALP) processes are necessary to comprehensively address students’ academic, social, and emotional needs. GoodAcceptablesafeguardingchild protectionIEP and ALP
All aspects of leadership and management have remained at a Good level. Leaders are ambitious for student learning and experiences, clearly articulating their goals. They actively involve parents, and the governing board closely monitors school actions, holding senior leaders accountable. There is a need to enhance the accuracy and validity of data used in the Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) and School Improvement Plan (SIP) to strengthen strategic direction. Goodambitious leadersparent involvementgoverning boardSEF and SIP
Key Highlights
Standout achievements identified by the inspection team that distinguish this school.
Improved Student Achievement
The school has successfully enhanced students’ achievement across all subjects, ensuring that students in all phases demonstrate at least good progress.
Positive Learning Attitudes
Students enjoy attending school and exhibit a positive attitude toward learning, which significantly contributes to their engagement and motivation.
Effective Teacher Collaboration
Teachers collaborate effectively across the school, fostering consistent achievement among students through shared practices and support.
Robust Safeguarding
The school prioritizes and effectively manages the health, safety, welfare, and safeguarding of students, ensuring a secure and supportive learning environment.
Strong Principal Leadership
The principal provides strong leadership, fostering a collaborative environment where senior leaders work cohesively to promote a culture of continuous improvement.
Supportive Governance
The governing body offers robust support to the school, empowering leaders to sustain the school’s positive trajectory and drive ongoing improvement.
Academic Performance Breakdown
Overall progress has improved in all subjects and across most phases, primarily due to the majority of students making better-than-expected progress, as indicated by their internal assessment results and performance in lessons.
Leadership & Management
Effectiveness of school governance, strategic planning, and leadership capacity to drive continuous improvement.
Leadership Approach
Leadership and management consistently maintain a Good rating, with leaders demonstrating ambition for student learning and experiences. They effectively articulate school goals and foster strong parent involvement. The governing board provides robust oversight, ensuring accountability for academic performance and service quality, though data accuracy in self-evaluation needs enhancement.
Inspection Findings
Students' Achievement
Students' attainment and progress in Islamic Education, Arabic as a second language, UAE Social Studies, English, Mathematics, and Science show varied levels across phases. While internal data often indicates above-curriculum standards, classroom observations sometimes show discrepancies. Progress is generally better than expected, but higher-attaining and gifted students do not always reach their full potential, and specific challenges exist in areas like Arabic writing fluency and mathematical problem-solving.
Personal & Social Development
Students' personal development is Good across all phases, reflecting responsible attitudes and positive behavior. However, their understanding of Islamic values, awareness of Emirati and world cultures, social responsibility, and innovation skills are rated Acceptable. There is a need to enhance student involvement in projects and activities to strengthen their sense of responsibility and engagement within the school community.
Teaching & Assessment
Teaching for effective learning has improved to Good across all phases, with teachers using varied techniques and differentiated learning opportunities. However, assessment practices remain at an Acceptable level, consistent with previous findings. There is a need for teachers to provide more consistent challenge for higher-attaining students and better support for lower-attainers, utilizing assessment outcomes more effectively.
Curriculum Design & Adaptation
Curriculum design and implementation are Good in KG and Secondary phases, and Acceptable in Primary and Middle phases. Curriculum adaptation is Acceptable across all phases. The curriculum needs to provide more regular and well-planned opportunities for students to make meaningful connections between learning areas across core subjects, and to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation skills.
Protection, Care & Support
Health and safety, including child protection and safeguarding, are Good. However, care and support for students are Acceptable. A review and update of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and Additional Learning Plan (ALP) processes are necessary to ensure that SMART targets comprehensively address students’ academic, social, and emotional needs. Access for students with additional learning needs also requires improvement.
Areas for Development
- •Raise the standard of achievement in all subjects to a very good level by ensuring all students, including lower-attaining, higher-attaining, gifted and talented, and students of determination, consistently make the progress of which they are capable.
- •Improve the quality of teaching, learning, assessment and the curriculum provision to very good levels by ensuring teachers provide sufficient challenge and support, give clear feedback, utilize assessment outcomes effectively, and systematically integrate cross-curricular links.
- •Strengthen leadership and management by reinforcing systems for leaders to support staff in using assessment procedures more accurately, enhancing the inclusion team and middle leaders’ skills in evaluating teaching quality, and extending facilities to provide appropriate access for students with additional learning needs.