Distance Learning a Success, Claims KHDA

More than two-thirds of private schools in Dubai offer a ‘developed’ level of distance learning, at least according to Dubai's education regulator, the KHDA following its recently-released Distance Learning Evaluation (DLE).

According to the KHDA, the DLE "supports schools to identify areas of improvement, and helps parents to make the right school choice for their children". It categorises schools’ proficiency at providing distance learning as ‘Developed’, ‘Partially Developed’, or ‘Not Developed’.

According to the regulator, 67% of Dubai’s private schools now offer a ‘Developed’ level of provision; 32% offer ‘Partially Developed’ solution, and 1% (one school) is said to be ‘Not Developed’ in terms of its distance learning platform.

Where is your school?

Every school rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Good’ by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau in the 2018/19 academic year was found to offer ‘Developed’ distance learning. 80% of schools rated ‘Good’ and 26% of schools rated ‘Acceptable’ also offered ‘Developed’ distance learning provision.

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, director general of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority said:

“Earlier this year, school leaders, teachers, parents and students in Dubai had to respond very quickly to a completely new way of teaching and learning.  They’ve shown great resilience, commitment and love during this period, and we’re grateful for their effort.

“The DLE was put in place to give us a common language and measure to talk about the quality of distance education. Because schools will provide options of face-to-face and distance learning next academic year, the DLE will help parents to get a complete picture of the quality of education their children are receiving, and will help schools to provide even better quality learning, no matter where it takes place.”

Schools have been quick to celebrate their successes. 

"I’m delighted that every single Al Najah school in Dubai achieved the highest possible rating in the recent DLE, Raza Khan, CEO Al Najah Education told WhichSchoolAdvisor.com. "This is testament to our excellent leadership and teachers who were able to mobilize e-learning as soon as the school closures were announced. We are just as well prepared now to welcome all our children back into our schools every day from September."

At GEMS Education, Deputy Chief Education Officer Jodh Singh Dhesi praised the 'flexibility and hard work' of the group's teachers and students, saying that;

“We are delighted that all of the evaluations for our schools are in the very top tier. It is testament to the flexibility and sheer hard work of our teachers and students, supported by their leaders and families respectively.

Unprecedented events call for unprecedented measures, and to have successfully transferred online the teaching of 8,000 practitioners and the learning of 120,000 students while maintaining the highest academic standards and the satisfaction of our parents is something that we are very proud of. The GEMS Education commitment to high quality learning through investment in technology and our people has certainly brought about results and we are very happy that our regulators have recognised these efforts.”   Jodh Singh Dhesi, Deputy Chief Education Officer, GEMS Education

Distance learning evaluations were based on three main areas: how well students were learning and how well their wellbeing was safeguarded; how well teachers were teaching and monitoring students’ learning; and how well school leaders were managing students’ learning across the school.

Each school’s five-hour evaluation was carried out through discussions with school leaders, review of students’ work, observation of online lessons, and feedback from parents, students and teachers.

When conducting the evaluation, the KHDA paid particular attention to how well students of determination and students with additional needs were catered to. At Kent College Dubai, Principal Anthony Cashin felt that high quality communication underpinned the school’s success.  He told WhichSchoolAdvisor.com that;

“Essential to the successful digital transformation at Kent has been the strong levels of communication between pupils, parents, teachers and the school administration team.

We listened to what the pupils and parents were telling us so that we could adjust, respond and evolve. For our older students, our teachers and Learning Support Assistants worked closely through Google Classroom and made sure each pupil was supported individually through Google Hangouts and Zoom lessons.

Our Head of Inclusion, Colette Woolnough, has made sure that the overall approach to Inclusion at Kent College has always been centred around ‘personalisation’ and during the recent period of Distance/Online learning, this became even more important. Across the school, we are all delighted to have achieved the “Developed” rating in the Distance Learning Evaluation”

At Safa British School, Principal Zara Harrington was delighted to report a clean sweep of top ratings in all areas of the evaluation.

"Safa British School is one of only a handful of UK curriculum schools to be awarded 'Developed' in all 11 indicators. During Distance Learning our team provided daily meditation to start the day, as well as brain break activities, yoga and additional education 1:1 and small group work.  As SBS is a true community school, we pride ourselves on supporting the children in partnership with the parents".

The Distance Learning Evaluation is a collaborative initiative between the UAE Ministry of Education, the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge and the Sharjah Private Education Authority and KHDA.

In Sharjah and the Northern Emirates

In Sharjah, 70 out of 112 private schools (63 per cent) were rated developed for distance learning, while 42 schools (37 per cent) were partially developed, according to the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA).

Said Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi, chairman of SPEA:

“We are very proud of schools’ performance and their co-operation and readiness to continue the process of progress; an achievement that is worth preserving by continuing to develop with the assistance of parents as active partners."

More than six in 10 private schools and two in 10 public schools in the Northern Emirates were rated advanced for distance learning by the Ministry of Education.

The ministry assessed all private schools and 29 per cent of government schools in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

The ministry also ranked schools in three categories, with top performers named 'advanced', ahead of partially developed and underdeveloped schools.

The WSA View

There is no doubt that schools across the UAE did a fabulous job at delivering distance learning overnight. However, with just three grades (developed, partly developed and not developed), we cannot help but feel that the grades hide a lot of variation in the delivery. Moreover,  without taking away the incredible work schools have done in such a short space of time, it is obvious that conventional schools would need to invest considerably more in technology, over a considerably longer period, to be able to offer the tools of more sophisticated, pure online learning spaces. 

The good news is that with over one-third of parents wanting online learning to continue according to the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com survey, there is the possibility, and opportunity, for schools to continue to enhance their offering should they so choose.

We would be hugely interested in your view of how your school has done, and whether you agree with its current rating. If you have a strong opinion, let us know by adding a comment below, or by sending us an email to editor [at] whichschooladvisor.com.