Located in Al Quoz, Oaktree Primary School opened in September 2016 with almost 200 students. The school teaches children the UK national curriculum from FS 1 to year 6.

The story so far...

Oaktree Primary School is located on the site of the previous German school in Dubai and is well designed for a primary school. The building is traditional in design spread over two floors and with a separate kindergarten section with its own outdoor space.

The school is owned by Athena Education which also owns the long-established Grammar School Dubai. The school was set up under the leadership of Mr Christopher McDermott, well known as the previous principal of the outstanding rated GEMS Jumeirah Primary School.  Unfortunately, following the departure of Mr. McDermott to the Head Office of Athena Education, and subsequently to the UK, there have been a number of Principals who have enjoyed relatively short tenures at the school.

As of September 2022, the Principal's position is now filled by Ms. Shirley Atkar who joins the school from her previous position as Head Teacher at St. Georges Church of England School. Ms. Atkar is from Hagley in Worcestershire and attended university in Birmingham where she attained a Bachelor of Education specialising in Mathematics.

Learn more about Oaktree Primary School in our SCHOOL EXPERIENCE HERE

The school currently offers classes from FS1 to year 6. With the small number of students currently attending the school and the accordingly small class sizes (no more than 12 per class), children who attend Oaktree Primary School receive a significant amount of attention from class teachers.  The current student to teacher ratio is aproximately 6:1.

There are currently 28 nationalities in the school, with approximately 21% being UK passport holders and a significant number of French-speaking students (10%), who have joined the school because of its classes for French native speaking children.

Teachers have been recruited primarily from the UK, Ireland, Syria and Yemen. All are experienced primary teachers (mostly gaining their experience in the UK, with 4 staff having previous experience in the UAE and Oman). The majority have 3 to 4 years postgraduate experience which means that they are up-to-date with current teaching practices.

The ethos of the school is very much focused on a sense of positivity. The goal is to achieve a sense of happiness among staff and children through a feeling of security and sense of purpose. The school aims to ensure that children are contented but determined and success follows on from this. This approach is based on positive psychology and a goal of positive education with protection and care for staff and students.

What about the curriculum?

Oaktree Primary School offers the National Curriculum for England with an additional weekly UAE themed lesson. The curriculum is mainly project based with the projects changing every half term (in FS this is every three weeks).  Projects aim to integrate core subjects, but the school does not make tenuous links between subjects and, if necessary, these will be taught separately. The curriculum leaders, Key stage leaders and Vice Principal coordinate the themes which are adjusted to support children's interests and learning.

Oaktree Primary School has worked very hard to create an environment where it is normal for children to come and go from the classroom for specialist sessions. This includes children who are native French speakers and who have five lessons per week with native French-speaking staff to ensure that they continue to learn as they would in their home environment.

A weekly newsletter is sent to parents and this includes suggested activities to support the projects going on in school with creative ideas. The school has a policy of home learning (not referred to as homework), and is trying to be family and child-centred by offering a balanced approach. There is a major focus on reading and workshops are provided for parents so that they can learn how best to support their children.

The school uses a UK based platform, Education City, through which tasks are set where children can find worksheets, reading and creative tasks to carry out. Each child has their own login. The system marks work undertaken by the child and sends this to the teacher. Parents are aware of the options on Education City and can choose to have their children do more or less work at home if they feel that the works set is insufficient.

What about Special Needs support?

There is a particular emphasis on supporting children with additional learning needs. The school employs a counsellor for inclusion who not only works on a one-to-one basis with children, but also adopts a more holistic approach which includes working with staff on a proactive basis. This starts with spending time on the playground watching how children interact with each other and also through providing parents with top tips for how to promote positive behaviour at home.

The school works with The Developing Child Centre to offer speech and language support and occupational therapy. There is a combined approach between the school and the centre and parents are invited to attend sessions and to join in with the support being offered to children. Eight children have one-to-one shadow teachers and The Developing Child Centre is also providing training for teachers and teaching assistants at the school. Children also have access to a specialist SEN teacher who also works with them on a one-to-one basis.

The school provides a sensory room which children are able to access as needed. Children being provided with additional support have a range of learning needs including general learning difficulties, speech and memory issues and autism. Learning support staff are fully integrated with in the classrooms and shadow teachers participate in weekly meetings with the specialists. Gifted and talented children are also being assessed using GL assessment tools and the school ensures strong parental involvement.

There is a strong focus on parental involvement with open coffee mornings, a parent teacher association and a personalised approach to parents and children. Parents at the school with whom Whichschooladvisor.com met, were universally happy with the school and their children's progress within it. All spoke of the excellent communications between staff, parents and children, the focus on each individual child, the lack of staff pressure on children and a structured but friendly environment where staff were kind in their ways.

Read more about the Parent View of Oaktree Primary School in our SCHOOL EXPERIENCE HERE

The size of the school means that even when it is full, the feeling of a small school and a strong community will be retained. In Dubai, where bigger is often felt to be better in relation to schools, Oaktree seems to be going against the common view and we hope that it continues in this way.

What the inspectors say

Oaktree Primary School was awarded an Acceptable rating - the minimum required by the KHDA - on its first inspection in March 2019.

If you would like to read the full inspection report - and we strongly recommend that you do so in order to understand the reason behind the rating - you will find it here.

The Buzz

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com has received very limited feedback from parents at the school.  The 20 who have provided their feedback have given the school a rating of 2.9/5 - a positivity rating of 58%.  Please read the full Parent Opinion feedback here.

If you are a parent or teacher at Oaktree Primary School, please share your opinions and experience with other potential members of your community and complete our Survey.

What about the fees?

Fees at Oaktree Primary School range from AED 15,000 in FS, to AED 25,000 in Years 5 and 6.  This is a highly affordable fee level for a UK curriculum school.

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