First 2018 Abu Dhabi School Ratings - Revealed!

Of the 48 schools inspected in Abu Dhabi in the latest round of inspections, just under half managed to show sufficient improvement to receive an upgrade in their rating. Another 22 retained the rating from their previous inspections  (2015-16) while three schools were found to have moved backward in their overall performance.

It will no doubt have been a surprise for parents to learn that the performance, and therefore ratings, of Abu Dhabi Indian School, and the two Choueifat branches in Abu Dhabi and Rowais were deemed to have declined from Good to Acceptable.

For Abu Dhabi Indian School, the inspectors identified the need to improve the provision of Arabic, meet the learning needs of all students, including those with SEN, high achievers and the gifted and talented (G&T), improve school self-evaluation so that it supports the identification of realistic and achievable improvement targets, and benchmark students’ achievement against international standards. Both Choueifat schools were found to require improvement in the areas of student achievement, teaching and assessment.

Among the 23 schools whose ratings improved, Al Bhaya Private School, Al Ittihad National Private School Al Ain, Al Najah Private School, Creative British School and International Jubilee Private School all moving from Acceptable to Good.

Showing a significant improvement by moving two ratings from Weak to Good, Asian International Private School and the Indian Private School Al Ain outperformed all others.

A number of schools made the important step of improving their ratings from Weak to Acceptable. These included Ain AlKhaleej Private School, Al Ain English Speaking School, Al Awa'il Private School, Al Iman School, Baream Al Ain Private School, Dar Al Uloom Private School, Emirates Future International Academy, Emirates National School AlNayhan, Future International Academy, Ibn Khaldoun School, Scientific Distinction Private School, Tawaam Model Private School and United School of Bani Yas Private School.

Three schools - Al Maali International School, Pakistani Islamic Private School and Palestine Private Academy - improved their ratings from Very Weak to Weak, but clearly still have significant progress to make.

None of the schools inspected in the first round were able to improve their rating to either Very Good or Outstanding.

Overall, 22 schools retained their ratings from the previous inspection round in 2015-16 – with one remaining Very Weak, four Weak, 10 Acceptable, three Good, three Very Good (Al Ain International Academy, GEMS American Academy, BISAD - British International School Abu Dhabi) and one (Aldar's Al Muna Academy), maintaining its Outstanding rating.

Of the 48 schools included, one is still rated Very Weak and seven schools are still rated Weak. This represents 15% of the schools inspected. The 26 schools rated Acceptable represent 54% of schools in this tranche.

With this first round of 2017-18 inspections published, it seems that there is still a long way to go for the majority of schools to reach the level of Good – the minimum rating to which all schools are expected to aspire.

The following table shows the results for each school inspection in this first round with changes in rating high-lighted: