Private School

Inspection Report

Ain Al Khaleej School

Academic Year 2015 2016

Page 1 of 17

Ain Al Khaleej School

Inspection Date

26 - 29 October, 2015

Date of previous inspection

5 - 7 November, 2013

General Information

Students

School ID

129

Total number of
students

894

Opening year of
school

1992

Number of children
in KG

150

Principal

Raed Al Qasrawi

Number of students
in other phases

Primary 258
Middle 226
High
260

School telephone

+971 (0)3 781 1232

Age range

4 18 years

School Address

Fallaj Hazzaa
Al Ain

Grades or Year
Groups

KG Grade 12

Official email (ADEC)

Ainalkhaleej.pvt@adec.ac.a
e

Gender

Mixed

School Website

N/A

Percentage of
Emirati Students

10%

Fee range (per

annum)

AED 7,150 AED 14,690

Largest nationality
groups (%)

1. Egyptian 33%
2. Syrian 17%
3. Jordanian 13%

Licensed Curriculum

Staff

Main Curriculum

Ministry of Education

Number of teachers

66

Other Curriculum

American KG - Grade 6

Number of teaching
assistants (TAs)

10

External Exams/
Standardised tests

MoE

Teacher-student
ratio

2:25 KG
1:11 Other phases

Accreditation

--------

Teacher turnover

5%

Page 2 of 17

Introduction
Inspection activities
4

Number of inspectors deployed

Number of inspection days

72

Number of lessons of observed

Number of joint lesson
observations

Number of parents
questionnaires
Details of other inspection
activities

77; (return rate: 7.8%)

Lesson observations, scrutiny of students work,
review of documents, analysis of school data,
discussions with all stakeholders.

School
School Aims

Build a creative and ambitious generation

School vision and mission

Mission: Create leaders, achieve high quality

performance, foster gifted and talented students and
have effective partnerships with the local community.

Admission Policy

Boys and girls from KG to Grade 12. Students are

tested on entry, especially for admission to the
American section.

Leadership structure
(ownership, governance and
management)

Principal, Vice Principal and 7 coordinators.

Page 3 of 17

SEN Details (Refer to ADEC SEN Policy and Procedures)

Number of students
identified through external
assessments

SEN Category

Number of other students

identified by the school

Intellectual disability

Specific Learning
Disability
Emotional and Behaviour
Disorders (ED/ BD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD)
Speech and Language
Disorders
Physical and health
related disabilities

10

10

Visually impaired

Hearing impaired

Multiple disabilities

G&T Details (Refer to ADEC SEN Policy and Procedures)

G&T Category

Number of students
identified

Intellectual ability

Subject-specific aptitude (e.g. in science, mathematics,

languages)

Social maturity and leadership

Mechanical/ technical/ technological ingenuity

Visual and performing arts (e.g. art, theatre, recitation)

Psychomotor ability (e.g. dance or sport)

Page 4 of 17

The overall performance of the school

Inspectors considered the school in relation to 3 performance categories

Band B

Satisfactory (Acceptable)

Band C

In need of significant improvement (Weak or Very Weak)

(C)

High Performing

Satisfactory

Acceptable

Band B

Good

Band A

Very Good

Performance Standards

BAND

Outstanding

School was judged to be:

Weak
Band C
In need of significant
improvement

Performance Standard 1:
Students achievement
Performance Standard 2:
Students personal and
social development, and
their innovation skills
Performance Standard 3:
Teaching and assessment
Performance Standard 4:
Curriculum
Performance Standard 5:
The protection, care,
guidance and support of
students
Performance Standard 6:
Leadership and
management

Summary Evaluation:
The schools overall
performance

Page 5 of 17

Very Weak

High performing (Outstanding, Very Good or Good)

Weak

Band A

The Performance of the School

Evaluation of the schools overall performance
The quality of education provided by the school is weak. Senior leaders,
supported by the governors, have created a calm working environment where
staff and students are beginning to tackle low educational standards. The school
now has a more consistent approach towards improving the quality of learning
and teaching.
Academic achievement is not rising as quickly as it could because teaching does
not consistently challenge the students or make the most of their abilities. There
is still too much emphasis on the teacher imparting knowledge to the whole class
at the expense of students having to think for themselves or consider things
critically. In the lessons where they are appropriately challenged, the students rise
to much higher standards. The curriculum is not modified well enough to match
the students needs. The assessment of students performance is weak.
The staff have appropriately high expectations of students personal
development; behaviour is good and relationships are positive. The care and wellbeing of students is appropriately assured.
Progress made since last inspection and capacity to improve
The school has made significant progress in certain areas since the last inspection.
Issues, such as those relating to the care and well-being of students and their
personal development, have been fully addressed. The school has successfully
embedded an understanding of the heritage and culture of the United Arab
Emirates in curricular and extra-curricular activities. Similarly, leadership has
improved and it is now clearly focused on improving student progress. Teaching is
monitored by middle managers on a regular basis. As a result, there has been
some improvement since the last inspection in the quality of teaching and
learning. There are more examples of challenging lessons and interesting projects
that stimulate the students and improve their progress, as seen in science. There
are still too many classes where the teachers rigidly follow a textbook-based
curriculum. The school has not managed to improve systems for assessing and
tracking student progress well enough. As a result, very few lessons are
appropriately matched to the students levels of ability or prior learning.
Overall, the school demonstrates an acceptable capacity to improve.
Development and promotion of innovation skills
The school has made efforts to promote basic innovation through projects and
competitions, but the skills required are not promoted sufficiently well across the
Page 6 of 17

school or through the curriculum. When the opportunities are provided, the
students readily rise to the challenge, for example high school girls leading
lessons in mathematics and Grade 8 girls setting up and presenting a science fair
on the classification of vertebrates. Through such events, the students clearly
demonstrate their potential to be innovators. Most of the students are confident
to extend themselves beyond the routine of lessons. In the majority of classes
however, students wait for the teacher to tell them the knowledge content which
they then record on a worksheet. They do not routinely use or develop
independent learning skills.

The inspection identified the following as key areas of strength:

establishing a leadership team which has helped to create an environment

where students are enabled to learn
provision for the care, guidance and support of students, including their
safety, is much improved
students positive attitudes towards learning, they behave well and
attendance and punctuality are now good.

The inspection identified the following as key areas for

improvement:

standards of attainment in Arabic, English, mathematics and science

the ongoing assessment of students to inform planning for learning
provision for students to develop and use a range of learning skills on a
regular basis
modification of the curriculum to add challenge for the most able students
and to support those who experience difficulty in learning.

Page 7 of 17

Performance Standard 1: Students Achievement

Students achievement Indicators

Islamic
Education

Arabic
(as a First
Language)

KG

Primary

Middle

High

Attainment

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Progress

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Attainment

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Progress

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Attainment

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Progress

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Attainment

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Progress

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Attainment

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Progress

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Attainment

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Progress

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Attainment

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Progress

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Attainment

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Progress

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Attainment

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Progress

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Acceptable

Arabic
(as a Second
Language)

Social Studies

English

Mathematics

Science
Language of
instruction (if other
than English and
Arabic as First
Language)
Other subjects
(Art, Music, PE)
Learning Skills
(including innovation, creativity, critical
thinking, communication, problemsolving and collaboration)

Page 8 of 17

Attainment and progress are weak. The school has made efforts to look at trends in
student performance but these are based on very limited evidence. The staff have
identified a few students who have special educational needs (SEN) and a few who
are gifted or talented. The support given is mostly pastoral and there is very little
evidence of how they are supported in lessons to respond to their learning needs.
The school does not use external tests sufficiently well to check its own
performance against schools following the same curriculum and is therefore limited
in its ability to accurately evaluate itself.
Standards of attainment in grades 10, 11 and 12 are broadly in line with Ministry of
Education (MoE) curriculum expectations. Standards in Arabic, social studies,
English, mathematics and science are below curriculum expectations. Throughout
the school, standards of attainment for most students in Islamic education meet
MoE expectations. There is evidence of a limited improvement in attainment over
the last two years. Students here develop knowledge, but their skills and
understanding are underdeveloped.
Standards in reading and writing in English are low for a large minority of students
and in Arabic are low for a majority of students. They are asked to write and record
in English before they are able to speak with a purpose or construct sentences
verbally. These activities are therefore mostly copy writing. In the American
curriculum section of the school, standards in English are better, though even here,
when teaching is weak, standards are low, for example when teaching the use of
the indefinite article before a vowel. Better learning is evident when teachers focus
on getting the spoken language from students first, for example in a lesson on
different professions. The large majority of students, including those of higher
ability, lack the confidence to use English or present their findings in Arabic because
they have too few opportunities to practise these skills. The majority of the boys in
the high school are unable to answer questions using sophisticated vocabulary or
use correct, standard Arabic.
Although the overall attainment in mathematics is weak, it meets the curriculum
expectations in the secondary grades in calculation skills because most teachers of
mathematics make acceptable provision for this area of learning. Standards for
most students are weak. In the lower grades, students' basic numeracy skills are
insecure and they get too few opportunities to apply them to real life situations or
in problem-solving. Over-reliance on worksheets limits students thinking skills in
mathematics. Their data handling skills are limited.
Students in all grades make acceptable progress in Islamic education. This is as a
result of the teaching being well structured in most lessons. For example, in a good
Grade 12 lesson, the teacher used the data projector well to illustrate the subject of
Page 9 of 17

divorce. Students were asked to share views and the teacher related this very well
to the teachings of the Holy Quran.
In the kindergarten (KG), students make acceptable progress from a very low
starting point, across a range of areas of learning. In particular, they quickly learn
social behaviours and begin to develop their language skills in English and Arabic. In
KG, there is a good ratio of adults to students and activities are provided in most
lessons so that children have opportunities to talk and be active in their learning.
In a minority of science classes, group and practical work is used very well to
maintain a brisk pace in the lessons and support students who are struggling to
understand. In such lessons, students make good and occasionally very good
progress. This does not happen consistently enough in the rest of the school and as
a consequence, progress is insufficient in a majority of lessons. The progress of
students of high ability and those with SEN is limited because few teachers use
assessment information to help them plan lessons to meet a range of needs.
Students enjoy other subjects, for example music and art.
Most students willingly complete the work that they are given. In most classes, they
are asked to sit in groups which provides the opportunity for them to work with
each other to extend their thinking. They are rarely required to do this; mostly they
complete worksheets either independently or by completing one worksheet within
the group, with limited participation by many students. Students get too few
opportunities to relate their learning to real-life situations. In a minority of lessons,
teachers have started to use the data projectors to illustrate main teaching points.
Progress in developing learning skills is better in the High School phase; students do
not make enough progress in developing research, critical thinking and problemsolving skills and their progress in learning technology skills is weak. This limits their
ability to develop innovative thinking.

Page 10 of 17

Performance Standard 2: Students personal and social development,

and their innovation skills
Students personal and social development,
and their innovation skills Indicators

KG

Primary

Middle

High

Good

Good

Good

Good

Understanding of Islamic values and

awareness of Emirati and world cultures

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Social responsibility and innovation skills

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Personal development

Students consistently demonstrate responsible attitudes. For example, in almost all

lessons they engage with what the teacher provides and they persevere with work
often without direct supervision. Behaviour throughout the school is good.
Students, from the youngest to the oldest, show a willingness to be involved. They
demonstrate respect for their teachers and for each other and they follow the
school rules which are displayed in all classrooms. Most students are courteous at all
times and this contributes to the positive working atmosphere.
Relationships are positive. Many Students show empathy towards others and they
help where they can, for example, helping younger students, distributing learning
materials and tidying up after classes. Many of the Students are aware of what
constitutes a healthy diet because of work they have undertaken in science and they
have been told of the health effects of poor diet or overeating. The level of
attendance is good at 95%, very few students come to school late and almost all of
them are punctual to lessons.
Students of all ages have gained an acceptable understanding of Islamic values and
awareness of Emirati and world cultures. They are able to discuss how society is
affected by Islamic teaching. The school has provided support for all students to
learn about the heritage of the UAE and most of them show pride in it. They are very
respectful in assemblies, particularly during the playing of the national anthem.
There are examples of young children in KG getting on well with each other and the
students in the older grades volunteering to help. The school provides few
opportunities for volunteering other than to lead assemblies. The older students
have the opportunity to visit other schools and universities, making connections
with others. Most of the students confirmed that they use social media and know
something of Internet safety. Students demonstrate a willingness to work hard and
Page 11 of 17

imaginatively but many lessons are so tightly controlled that they remain teacher
dependent. Lessons are relatively short, with reduced teaching time, and the focus
on students gaining knowledge restricts opportunities for them to become actively
involved in entrepreneurship and innovation activities. They have developed an
awareness of environmental issues; for example, the older girls have a good
awareness of issues surrounding oil extraction and its future.

Performance Standard 3: Teaching and Assessment

Teaching and Assessment Indicators

Teaching for effective learning

Assessment

KG

Primary

Middle

High

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

The quality of teaching is weak as the large majority of lessons were deemed weak
or very weak. The use of school assessment data is weak as a tool for comparing
academic standards against external or international benchmarks.
Teachers across the school have an acceptable level of subject knowledge to teach
the curriculum. The teachers produce lesson plans but these do not show any
adaptations to meet the needs of the range of students including those with special
educational needs (SEN). Other than in KG, very few resources are provided to
enrich student learning. In a minority of classes, teachers are now using the data
projectors to illustrate their teaching points; this gives students visual clues to help
their learning. Mostly, teacher-student interactions are positive and students feel
comfortable enough to ask questions. In a minority of classes, a few teachers have
difficulty in ensuring that all students, particularly the boys, remain on task during
lessons. This happens when they are working in large groups and have no clear
focus.
Mostly teaching in KG is planned to involve students in practical learning
opportunities. For example, when working on the senses of hearing, smell and sight,
students were asked to draw, cut and model as well as complete worksheets. This
engaged the students but they were not asked to experiment with their senses in
any meaningful way and this was a missed learning opportunity. Too few
opportunities are provided for students to develop their critical thinking or problemsolving skills. They are not asked often enough to use their higher-order thinking
skills; mostly they are asked to repeat facts.
Page 12 of 17

The school has begun to use assessment tasks and the results are being used to
check the progress of cohorts of students and occasionally to identify gaps in
learning. The use of assessment information to plan for students learning is in the
very early stages of development. In the lower grades of the school, the practice of
having all students chant answers simultaneously is a barrier to the teachers gaining
knowledge of the individual students abilities. There are examples of good practice;
in a very good Grade 5 science lesson, the teacher randomly asked questions of
individuals then listened to the outcomes of discussions from groups. In this way,
she was able to assess the knowledge and understanding of individuals and was
then able to support their learning effectively.

Performance Standard 4: Curriculum

Curriculum Indicators

Curriculum design and implementation

Curriculum adaptation

KG

Primary

Middle

High

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Weak

Weak

Weak

Weak

The curriculum closely follows the published Ministry of Education (MoE) curriculum
and this ensures it progresses year-on-year and is reasonably balanced. Whilst
choices within the curriculum are limited, students can make choices for example
about which clubs they join. The school has made efforts to extend the curriculum,
for example providing for music, art and specialist resources to support a growing
awareness of heritage. The curriculum links well with the Emirati culture and UAE
Society. These initiatives are clearly reflected during assemblies and clubs and
parents commented positively on this.
The curriculum is not adapted to meet the needs of all students and the
development of innovative and critical thinking skills is not a focus. Teachers are
beginning to promote links between subjects, for example in English where history
and science topics were seen. There are very few opportunities to use independent
research skills or develop entrepreneurship. The schools American curriculum,
available for students in grades 1 to 6 has a closer focus on skill development but
students mostly leave the school at the end of grade 6. The school recently changed
to having eight, shorter teaching periods a day but by the time registers have been
taken and lessons start, there is very limited time to set up meaningful interactive
learning.
Page 13 of 17

Performance Standard 5: The protection, care, guidance and support

of students
The protection, care, guidance and support
of students Indicators

KG

Primary

Middle

High

Health and safety, including arrangements

for child protection/ safeguarding

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Care and support

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

Acceptable

The protection, care, guidance and support of students is acceptable overall;

elements of this performance standard vary from weak to good. The school has
good formal procedures for safeguarding students, including child protection, and
takes appropriate steps to protect students from all forms of abuse including
bullying. Requirements for securing the health and safety of students and staff are
met and safety checks are good. The supervision of students is effective including
when they are on school transport. The buildings are maintained to a satisfactory
standard and are clean. The school maintains secure records of all incidents. Some
aspects of the premises and facilities do not meet the needs of all students,
particularly those with SEN. The building has not been adapted to make it suitable
for students with physical disabilities. The boys prayer room is not readily accessible
and the girls prayer room is small and not fit for purpose.
The school promotes safe and healthy living, though this is not presented
systematically as part of the curriculum. Staff student relationships are good and
systems for managing students behaviour are successful. The school has been
particularly successful in promoting good attendance and punctuality. There are
appropriate procedures to identify students with special educational needs (SEN).
Support helps the students with SEN to make adequate personal development. The
students receive adequate academic guidance and support; it does not effectively
promote their academic progress. Career guidance is developing.

Page 14 of 17

Performance Standard 6: Leadership and management

Leadership and management Indicators
The effectiveness of leadership

Acceptable

Self-evaluation and improvement planning

Acceptable

Partnerships with parents and the community

Acceptable

Governance

Acceptable

Management, staffing, facilities and resources

Acceptable

Leaders and managers have successfully worked together to tackle weaknesses in

students personal and social development. Their focus is now on improving
teaching and learning. The principal and middle managers have set a clear agenda
for improving the achievement of students both academically and in their personal
development. All of the staff are clear that they must contribute to the achievement
of this goal. The middle managers have a thorough knowledge of the subjects they
lead and can advise their staff. They are becoming increasingly aware of the
importance of student-centred learning. The quality of teaching is monitored
regularly. This is a relatively recent development and impact is still at a preliminary
level. Relationships are professional and communication within the school is good
but the response of a minority of teachers to the required changes in teaching is
slowing the progress of the school.
The school evaluates its own performance and from this creates school
improvement planning. The self-evaluation form (SEF) had not been updated. The
school development plan (SDP) contains appropriate targets that will help to
improve the school; they lack specificity and are difficult to monitor. Weaknesses in
the collection of achievement data that can be compared against a range of schools
or international standards hampers the school from having a clear view of the level
of its own performance. The outcomes of classroom monitoring are used to set
development targets for teachers. There is an acceptable capacity to innovate and
improve; leaders know that learning outcomes could be better even though they
believe there has been improvement. The school has provided professional
development and training for teachers and this is resulting in steady improvements
in the range of teaching styles being offered and to the quality of planning.
The school welcomes parents and senior managers and staff are available to discuss
any parents concerns. The parents seen were very positive about the school and
had noticed improvements in recent years. They were satisfied with the quality of
Page 15 of 17

education. Reporting to parents is weak. The school provides reports on each

student but these give very little detail other than grades and almost no comments.
A few parents have requested and received a more detailed report. There are a
limited number of links with other schools, for example for sporting fixtures, visits
take place to local places of interest and students enter local and national
competitions.
The owner and governors meet regularly and attempt to address issues that school
managers or parents have raised. There are parents on the Governing Body. Senior
school staff are held accountable to the governors for school improvement. The
governors have a reasonable overview of the school; they do not significantly shape
the schools academic future.
Most aspects of the day-to-day school management are well organized. Routines
and procedures effectively promote an environment where students can learn.
There are enough teachers to deliver the curriculum and in some parts of the school,
most notably KG, there is a good ratio of adults to children. Many of the teachers
have been able to access professional development. Efforts have been made to
improve the environment in particular for the KG and to provide new rooms for art,
music, heritage and the new technology suite. The new data projectors and laptops,
which have been provided for each room and teacher, have the potential to improve
the quality of lessons significantly as the teachers begin to employ them more fully.
There is still a need for further resources in many parts of the school including the
library.

Page 16 of 17

What the school should do to improve further:

1. Raise achievement in English, Arabic, mathematics and science so that
most students attain levels that are at least in line with curriculum
standards by:
i. implementing a system for assessing students academic progress
founded in an accurate judgement of attainment on entry and the
data available from external examinations
ii. using assessment information to ensure that teachers set high
expectations for academic progress in all lessons
iii. using the assessment information to plan lessons and units of work
which challenge the most able and support the least able.
2. Improve students learning skills, particularly in English, Arabic,
mathematics and science, by:
i. creating regular opportunities for enquiry, problem solving and
independent learning
ii. enabling students to make better, more creative use of technology.
3. Continue the programme of targeted professional development for
teachers and monitor its impact, specifically focusing on teachers use of
assessment information and student engagement in learning.

Page 17 of 17