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This Year's School Ratings

Updated on 10 May 2018

A new report 'Dubai Private Schools: A Decade of Growth' issued by Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has revealed remarkable progress in the quality of education in Dubai. KHDA’s inspection report is an evidence based report to compare school performances. KHDA school inspections were introduced in 2008 with the aim of providing comprehensive view of the quality of education. This year, KHDA is marking 10 years of school inspections. Over the years, the inspection reports have given parents and educators a common language to talk about education quality.

As per this year’s inspection report, a total of 24 schools have improved their rating with one school moving from ‘very good’ to ‘outstanding’, 11 schools moving from ‘good’ to ‘very good’, 8 moving from ‘acceptable’ to ‘good’ and 4 from ‘weak’ to ‘acceptable’. Dubai is home to 194 private schools providing 17 different curricula. Of the 166 private schools inspected this academic year, six were rated weak, 51 rated acceptable, 68 rated good, 27 rated very good and 14 rated outstanding.

Overall, there is a higher proportion of good and better schools in Dubai, with 86 schools having improved their overall rating since their first inspection. Most schools have been showing steady improvements in almost all performance standards and indicators, in spite of expectations becoming more demanding over the years. Now, 66% of all students, and 62% of Emirati students attend good or better schools across Dubai.

Other findings

The proportion of students attending good or better school has more than doubled in the last 10 years – 30% of students in 2008/09 compared with 66% of students in 2017/18
75% of students of determination attend schools with good or better SEN provision, up from 46% in 2014

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), said, “This is a particularly special year for education in Dubai as we are marking 10 years of school inspections. Ten years ago parents in Dubai had no objective means of knowing about the quality of education schools were providing, nor any evidence-based way to compare schools to help them choose the best one for their children. Now, parents and educators have a common language to talk about education quality, and annual inspection reports on every private school in Dubai provide an invaluable resource for parents.”

He added, “We are not only looking back over the last ten years, we are also looking ahead to the next ten and beyond. We will continue to work together with school leaders, teachers, parents and students – and support them to work with each other – to ensure that our children are being prepared for the tests of life, not just a life of tests.”

Fatma Belrehif, Executive Director of Dubai School Inspection Bureau said, “Reflecting on the last ten years of school inspections in Dubai, we can clearly say that the quality of education offered by private schools has significantly improved, as have student outcomes and achievements.”
She added, “In the past ten years, we have witnessed dramatic changes in the educational landscape in Dubai. Parents are now much more likely to enrol their children in a ‘good’ school than before the introduction of school inspections. A major focus of the past ten years has been to raise the quality of learning experiences and to enhance students’ overall achievements and wellbeing.”

This years report had a number of stand-out findings from a variety of schools which further demonstrates the quality of education available, one of those stand-outs being Kings School Dubai, which has been inspected each year since school inspection reports began and has for all 10 years been rated as outstanding.