GEMS Legacy School - until April 2021 known as The Kindergarten Starters - is a long-established GEMS Education school following the CBSE curriculum.

The Story so Far...

GEMS Legacy School (GLS) - known for over 30 years as The Kindergarten Starters - is a private school operated by GEMS Education.  It is certainly not a Kindergarten in the traditional sense, but rather - at least until 2021 - a Primary school located in Al Garhoud that was established in 1990.

In March 2021, GEMS Education announced that the school would be renamed GEMS Legacy School. Further details can be found here. At the same time, it announced that the school would be opening a Secondary section in April 2021, initially offering places in Grade 6, and then growing by a grade a year until the school is fully open to Grade 12. A year later, in April 2022, the school announced the opening of the Secondary campus which will accommodate 550 students. It is expanding to Grade 8 for the 2023-24 academic year.

GLS is one of the largest schools operated by GEMS, with a total student roll of close to 5,700 - growth of almost 800 students since 2020. The largest nationality group of students is Indian. There are no Emirati students.  

Led by Principal and CEO, Ms. Asha Alexander, who joined the then Kindergarten Starters in 2011, there are 237 teachers, the majority of whom are Indian passport holders. There are 62 teaching assistants and three guidance counsellors. 

With a teacher to student ratio of  1:25, this is a high ratio and is reflected in average class sizes of 32 from Grade 1 upwards. Given also that the school has a very significant percentage of students with additional learning needs (690 students in the 2022-23 academic year) the size of Primary schools classes must inevitably be something of a concern. The school, rightly though, prides itself on its highly inclusive environment. Interestingly, since the previous inspection when teacher turnover was only 9%, in the past academic year, this figure has risen to 17%.

In the Principal's opening comments, she notes that "The school has chosen to place itself at the forefront of educational development, the focus on developing learning environments and a commitment for GEMS Legacy School to be inclusive, with unique ways to help all students continue their learning. We want to continue to create the opportunities for all to succeed."

The school's detailed Vision and Mission statements set out the goals of GLS.

Its Vision states: We will be the pre-eminent intellectual, creative school where research and design transforms and drives learning and teaching to address issues of urbanization, technological change, economic empowerment, sustainability and globalization, through effective engagement while employing better communication and organized systems to meet social needs.

The Mission expands that:

The GEMS Legacy School prepares students to become leaders by helping them to contribute and succeed in a continuously evolving global arena, thereby ensuring that tomorrow’s world is a better and more just place. We help students build the skills and competencies for success and leadership in the emerging creative economy. We motivate students to apply their practical and theoretical knowledge to improve conditions for local and global communities. At GEMS Legacy School, we promote Academic Rigor, Philanthropy as well as Innovation and the school tagline ‘A Legacy of Empathy, Resilience, Leadership and Sustainable Living’ reflects the ethos and culture of the school. 

The focus on Sustainability is one that has received particular notice and comment over the past year or so, including from the DSIB inspectors in their most recent (2022-23) inspection report who noted the 'School’s vision to be a sustainable, climate change focused school'. 

The school achieved a Good rating for the sixth time, but as is so often the case, the overall rating simply does not acknowledge the strengths of the school. Find out more by reading What the Inspectors Say. 

And it is clear that these commitments are not just idle promises.  The inspectors noted that "The school is exceptionally successful in engaging parents as partners in their children’s learning.  Sixty parents trained alongside the staff to become UN accredited climate change teachers." The inspectors also noted that "Leaders’ vision of inclusivity, sustainability and commitment to teaching and learning is widely shared. Opportunities for student leadership include on-line teaching of girls in rural India and a number of global sustainability initiatives". 

Defining its actions further, GEMS Legacy School "raises awareness and cultivates understanding on sustainable practices, acknowledging the important connection between educational development and a sustainable learning environment to develop environmentally conscious global citizens. Our role as a school is to promote climate literacy, increase resilience in communities, mitigate climate change and change the behaviours of all our stakeholders and the wider community. Our vision is to make every person aware and accountable for creating an equitable and sustainable future".

What about the curriculum?

The  curriculum at GLS is founded on the CBSE curriculum. The learning approach has evolved from traditional text book learning to a more blended approach towards e-learning, with exploration and interactive learning through e-resources. Online interactive learning platforms have been implemented as a means of extending learning beyond the physical boundaries of the text book and the classroom.

Building on the focus on sustainability and on healthy living, in October 2022, GLS announced that, coinciding with the sixth annual Dubai Fitness Challenge, GEMS Legacy School had launched the Emirate’s first K-12 nutrition curriculum designed to promote a healthy diet, active lifestyle and fitness-focused mindset. The curriculum aims to empower the entire school community by providing students, staff and parents with the information, tools and motivation needed to make healthier food choices. 
Created in partnership with the co-founders of Ninja Fit, Sameer Shaikh and Neha Chohan, the school’s new curriculum will create nutrition-centred content and strategies that are cross-curricular and can be integrated into lessons throughout the school day.

In the Kindergarten, the focus is on skills commonly found in the UK EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) such as Personal, Social, Emotional, Physical, Language, Mathematical, Creative and Enquiry skills, underpinned by the Reggio Emilia approach. Students make choices from a range of provided activities, whilst the role of the teacher is as a facilitator who observes, probes students’ thinking with questions, listens to their comments and stories, finds what interests them and provides them with a range of materials and opportunities to explore these interests further. 

The GLS primary curriculum aims to provide a broad learning experience and encourages a rich variety of approaches to teaching and learning that cater to the different needs of individual children. The primary curriculum is designed to nurture the child in all dimensions of his or her life - spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical.

The entire GLS Curriculum has been redesigned and enriched beyond the CBSE expectations to match International standards. A thematic approach with meaningful cross curricular connections makes learning at GLS more interesting and long lasting, enabling students to build links across subjects and to develop their learning skills. 

GLS also offers a wide range of extra curricular activities.  

What about support for students of Determination and those with Gifts and Talents?

The DSIB inspection in the fourth quarter of 2022 noted that there were close to 700 students who had been identified as Students of Determination or those with additional Gifts and Talents - a number that is only likely to grow as the school develops year on year to an all-through school. 

GLS was awarded a Good rating for the provision and outcomes for Students of Determination.  Parents speak highly of the support that their children receive and believe that they are provided with high quality provision which is reflected in the improvements they see in their children.

In the summary of the DSIB report, inspectors commented "The identification of students of determination is a strength, although their support in lessons is not consistent. Students identified with gifts and talents are provided with some additional challenge".  

It would appear that whilst the assessment of students and recommendations in relation to the support required is effectively managed by the SEN team, individual lesson teachers do not yet fully implement the details of the Individual Education Plans in all cases. 

The inspection team recommended that GLS "ensure all teachers make full use of the IEPs to guide their lesson planning and support for students of determination". 

What about Academic Achievement?

With no students yet having taken their Grade 10 or Grade 12 CBSE examinations - and the first cohort not expected to do so until 2025-26, there is currently no external measure of academic performance for graduates or senior students at the school. 

However, the KHDA inspection report notes "that International assessment data shows that in 2019, Grade 4 students’ overall scores in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), were just below the targets set for this group. The most recent Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Educational Testing (ASSET) results, in English, mathematics and science were all very positive." 

What about facilities? 

GLS has a well-equipped range of facilities and resources for all students from Kindergarten to Grade 5 to help them achieve a well-rounded education in a child-friendly atmosphere.  In line with the expansion of the school to include Secondary from 2021, a new Secondary campus has also been added.

Facilities at the school include an ICT and Media Centre where students are exposed to Information and Communication Technology using PowerPoint presentations and overhead projectors are used as teaching aids; Lego labs, a Robotics lab, a science resource centre, a maths resource centre and a life skills centre which are spacious and equipped with promethean boards where students are encouraged to use their analytical skills, activity rooms for learning through play, a music and art room, a dance room where students communicate ideas through movement and expression, a library and reading rooms for Grade 1 and 2 students, a book store and a canteen.

Sand and water play areas are provided for KG students, and the newly designed traffic park is aimed at children learning through purposeful play. It enables the students to learn the traffic rules in a safe and friendly environment and not only improves awareness of traffic safety, but also helps develop gross and fine motor skills.

Sports facilities include Astro-turf football pitch, Cricket pitch and badminton and basketball grounds. 

However, the inspectors noted that although the campus supports innovation and sustainability, the lack of space limits the educational experience in KG and Primary. They commented that "Governors should consider ways in which to address the physical obstacles to children’s educational experience in some areas of KG and the primary school".

This has been an ongoing issue at GLS, with the previous inspection report have noted that the school's class sizes "are too large in some instances, resulting in resources for learning being insufficient to provide equal opportunities for effective practical work".  

What the Inspectors Say

The 2022-23 KHDA report - with a gap of three years since the last pre-Covid report in 2019-20 - ranks the school for the sixth year as Good and, overall, the report shows continued improvement in several aspects of the school.

Whilst there was no overall improvement to the higher overall rating of Very Good, Students' Achievement is now largely rated Very Good, with 10 Good ratings, including one improvement from Acceptable (for Arabic as a Second Language), and 16 Very Good ratings (an improvement of four ratings from Good).  Over half of the 29 ratings in this section are rated Very Good.

The remaining Key Performance Indicators showed unchanged ratings compared with the 2019-20 inspection report with the majority of ratings Very Good and Outstanding.  The two measures of Teaching and Assessment, and Care and Support remained largely Good and will inevitably be a focus of the school leadership.

Key strengths identified by the inspection team include:

• The identification of the school as a centre of excellence for sustainability and climate change education

• The work undertaken by students in Robotics, leading to ground-breaking ideas for future technological developments

• Students’ good and very good attainment and progress in most subjects

• The strong learning skills in all phases and children’s independent learning in KG

• Students’ confidence, communication skills, empathy and mutual respect for all.

Recommendations for improvement defined by the DSIB team require that GLS should: 

• Improve the consistency of teaching, particularly in KG and the lower primary grades.
• Ensure that all teachers make full use of assessment data to guide lesson planning, and ensure that all students, including those of determination, are provided with an appropriate level of challenge.
• Provide more support to Arabic and Islamic education to increase teachers’ understanding of the use of assessment data to guide teaching and learning.
• Improve the learning environment for the children in KG and students in the primary phase. 

If you would like to read the full KHDA report - and we strongly advise that you do so in order to understand the reasons behind the ratings - you may find it here.

The Buzz 

A small sample of parents have contributed their opinions to the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com parent survey.  Just over 20 parents have given the school an overall rating of 4/5 - a positivity rating of 80%. 

However, many parents, older students and teachers at GLS had not previously been able to participate in the WhichSchoolAdvisor.com survey.   We would very much encourage you to do so now, and to share your opinions and experience with other potential members of your community.  If you would like to take the survey, you will find it here.

In a change to the previous reporting method that involved parents, teachers and students participating in a pre-inspection survey, the KHDA's DSIB inspection team now includes an evaluation and rating for the Quality of Wellbeing Provision and Outcomes.  GEMS Legacy School was awarded a High rating.

• The inspection team found that:
  Leaders are dedicated to the importance of well-being, they strive to embody its ‘PRIDE’ acronym - perseverance,respect, integrity, discipline and excellence. The well-being team ensure that their vision is clear and are [sic] focussed on creating purposeful wellbeing links across the life of the school. Policies and plans set a clear direction. Surveys from parents, students and staff inform planning and modifications. Key issues are beginning to be understood by all stakeholders.
• The team of counsellors, pastoral care and specialist educators provides student support. Some students of determination and less able students would benefit from additional intervention. An instructional coaching programme supports staff development. Surveys indicate that staff are content. Student wellbeing ambassadors support the programme and are proactive. Students, staff and parents are encouraged to share concerns and suggestions. Their voices are heard, and suggestions acted upon.
• Some teachers make wellbeing links through their delivery of the curriculum; however, this is not embedded within programmes of study. A mental health curriculum has been introduced from Grade 3. Many activities to support those in need are implemented including breast cancer awareness, autism awareness, and empathy week. Recent links with an organisation for severely disabled adults is proving to be mutually beneficial. Students feel safe, supported and valued and demonstrate their wellbeing through their positive attitudes and engagement with the curriculum and each other. 

Our View

As one of GEMS' most popular schools, it is perhaps surprising that it has taken so long for GLS' expansion to include a Secondary school. It seems that one reason has been the simple issue of space, and although the Secondary section does not appear to be impacted in this regard, finding ways to improve the situation in the KG and Primary sections is likely to remain a challenge. 

Recent relocations of schools such as GEMS' Cambridge International School and the, formally GEMS Winchester School, now GEMS Heritage School have to some degree taken place as a result of similar issues.  There is no suggestion that such a move is on the cards for GLS, but it is hard to see how GEMS is likely to address these concerns, and this may well stand in the way of an improvement in overall KHDA rating.

Whether this matters to parents is hard to deduce - hence our request that more members of the school community take part in our survey.  Clearly, a school that is on the way to 6,000 students is doing many Very Good things and we expect parents to remain loyal, with school places at GLS being highly sought after.

What about the fees?

Fees for GEMS Legacy School start at AED 7,888 for KG1 and rise to AED 10,528 from Grades 1 to or Grade 5. Fees for Grades 6, 7 and 8 are approved by the KHDA at AED 14,000, but a discount is currently offered, reducing them to AED 12,600. Additional fees of AED 350 in KG, AED 500 in Grades 1-5 and AED 700 for Grades 6 to 8 are payable for E-resources.

This school is in a Best School by parents ranking

GEMS Legacy School is a Best of school, a ranking determined by parent surveys on the site. It can be found in the following Best of rankings:

• #56 in Best Schools in the UAE
• #7 in Best Indian Schools in Dubai
• #5 in Best CBSE Schools in Dubai
• #45 in Best Schools in Dubai

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