Universal American School - BranchPrincipal & Leadership Team

Universal American School - Branch is led by School Director Mr. Kevin Loft, a New Zealander appointed in January 2022 who previously served with GEMS Education as principal of both a UK/IB curriculum school and one of its two Outstanding-rated UK primary schools in Dubai. Beneath him sits a deep and structured senior leadership team spanning all phases: Mr. Philip Berry serves as Secondary School Principal, supported by dedicated assistant principals for high school, middle school, and elementary — including Ms. Tracey Cummins as High School Assistant Principal and IBDP Coordinator and Ms. Nadia Fawzy as Elementary Assistant Principal and PYP Coordinator. This layered structure signals deliberate succession planning and phase-level accountability across a school of 1,243 students.

The school is operated by the Al Futtaim Education Foundation as a not-for-profit institution, with governance overseen by a formally constituted board chaired by Mr. Fadi Hammadeh. Board membership includes designated roles for safeguarding (Ms. Kerry Ross), inclusion (Dr. Sarah Benson), and parent representation (Mrs. Nisreen Sabri). The 2023–2024 KHDA inspection rated governance Very Good and leadership effectiveness Very Good — a consistent picture across multiple inspection cycles. However, inspectors noted that governors are not yet fully involved in the school's self-evaluation process, and that self-evaluation outcomes need to be more securely grounded in assessment evidence. Parents, while highly engaged, have also expressed a desire for greater influence at governance level — a tension worth monitoring.

The KHDA inspection rated management, staffing, facilities and resources Outstanding — the highest possible grade — reflecting the quality of operational leadership under Mr. Loft's direction, which has included an ongoing campus refurbishment programme. Teaching quality was rated Very Good across KG, Elementary and High School phases, with Middle School teaching rated Good — an area the inspection identified for priority improvement. Inspectors noted that teachers demonstrate thorough subject knowledge and understand how students learn differently, with particularly careful lesson planning evident in the high school. 42 teaching assistants support the 103-strong teaching staff, yielding a student-to-teacher ratio of 1:12 — meaningfully better than the Dubai private school average of 1:13.6 across 204 schools with available data, and a notable advantage for a school of this size.

Parent engagement is a genuine strength: KHDA rated parents and community Outstanding, reflecting the school's active programme of parent conferences, Back to School Nights, Coffee Mornings, and parent workshops. The inspection described parents as demonstrating excellent commitment and support for student wellbeing and inclusion. UAS has maintained a KHDA Very Good rating continuously since 2017–2018 — six consecutive inspection cycles — having risen from Good in earlier years. Among American curriculum schools in Dubai, where only 1 of 42 schools holds a Very Good rating and just 1 holds Outstanding, this sustained performance places UAS in a small group of high performers within its curriculum peer group. [MISSING: staff qualification percentage data and staff retention/turnover statistics]