Abu Dhabi School Inspections: The Irtiqaa FAQ

What is Irtiqaa?
Irtiqaa is a program introduced by the Abu Dhabi Education Authority (ADEC) to benchmark, evaluate, and ultimately to raise the education standards of schools in Abu Dhabi.

What do the results mean?
All schools will fall into one of three bands: A, B and C.

Band A means the school is 'High performing'; Band B, means the school offers a 'Satisfactory' level of education, and Band C means the school is in need of 'significant improvement'. However within each band there are grades a school will fall into. These are:

Band A
1: Outstanding
2: Very Good
3: Good

Band B
4: Satisfactory and Improving
5: Satisfactory

Band C
6: Unsatisfactory
7: Very Unsatisfactory
8: Poor

On what are schools judged?
There are eight main criteria:
1. School standards and progress
2. Student’s personal development
3. Quality of teaching
4. Meeting of students needs through appropriate curriculum
5. Protection, care, guidance, and support of the students
6. Quality of school buildings and premises
7. Usage of resources to support school aims
8. Effectiveness of leadership and management

In between inspection events, schools are expected to perform their own self evaluation using the same standards and best practice criteria. This self- evaluation is an important management tool that works in tandem with inspection to help identify improvement targets and set appropriate objectives for the School Improvement Plan.

What is the frequency of each report?
Schools will be inspected "by a team of international experts" once every two years.  During the Academic year 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, all the private schools were inspected for a second time (but with results made public for the first time). The next full set of reports will therefore, logically, be ready for 2014/15.

Where can I see the latest results?
For a full list of Abu Dhabi schools, with current ratings, go here...