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7/26/2019 ADEC Al Yasat Private School 2014 2015
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New
School
Inspection
Report
Academic
Year
2014
2015
AlYasatPrivateSchool
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InspectionDate 46May2015
SchoolID# 244
LicensedCurriculum American
NumberofStudents 227
AgeRange 4to12years
Gender Mixed
Principal LesleyIsherwood
SchoolAddress P.O.Box25586,AlShamkha,AbuDhabi,UAE
TelephoneNumber +971(0)26412300
FaxNumber +971(0)26411050
Official
(ADEC)
Alyasat.pvt@adec.ac.ae
SchoolWebsite www.alyasatschool.com
Dateofopening 22October2014
AlYasatPrivateSchool
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Theoveralleffectivenessoftheschool
Inspectorsconsideredtheschoolinrelationto3performancecategories
Band
A
Highperforming(overalleffectivenessgrade1,2or3)
Band
B
Satisfactory(overalleffectivenessgrade4or5)
BandC Inneedofsignificantimprovement(overalleffectivenessgrade6,70r8)
The
main
strengths
of
the
school
are:
securelysatisfactoryacademicachievementacrossalmostallsubjects
thequalityofthebuildingandresourcesenhanceseffectivedeliveryofthe
curriculum
thecareandsupportprovidedforthosestudentswithspecialeducational
needspromotesacademicprogressinlinewiththeirpeers
astrongpositiveethoswherestudentsarewellcaredforandsaytheyfeel
safeandsecure
a strongly integrated leadership team sharing a common vision forhigh
standardsand
sustained
growth
thecultureandtraditionsoftheUAEcelebratedacrosstheschool
a focused languagedevelopmentprogrammethat ispromotingprogress
inliteracy.
Themainareasforimprovementare:
theacademicprogressofmoreablestudents
theengagementofstudentsasactivelearnersinclassrooms
the development of 21st century skills through independent thinking,
research,
experimentation,
and
reporting.
TheSchoolwasjudgedtobe: BANDB; GRADE4
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Introduction
Theschoolwasevaluatedbyateamof3inspectors.Theyobserved45lessonsand
conducted severalmeetingswithseniorstaff, theproprietor,students,parents,
subject coordinators, health and safety supervisors, teachers and the schools
accountant. They analysed studentsperformancedata, scrutinized samplesof
students work in all subject areas, analysed 67 responses to the parents
questionnaire about the school and reviewed the schools policies and other
documents.Theseniorleadershipteamwasinvolvedthroughouttheprocessand
conducted3jointlessonobservationswithinspectors.
DescriptionoftheSchool
AlYasatPrivateSchoolopenedonOctober22,2014inanewschoolbuildinginthe
AlShamkha
region
of
Abu
Dhabi.
The
mission
of
Al
Yasat
Private
School
is
to
provideasafe,nurturing,educationalenvironment thatwillenable students to
becomelifelonglearners.AlYasatacceptsallstudentswhoapply. KGandGrade
1studentsare interviewed for school readinessandnewstudents inGrades26
are administered a Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test to establish a
baselinescorethatwillbeusedtodetermineprogress.
Thereare227studentsenrolled;56%areboys,almostallareMuslimandofArabic
heritage. There are 21 nationalities represented at the school, of which the
majority are Emirati nationals at 73%; the other main groups of students are
Egyptians(6%),
Sudanese
(4%),
Pakistani
and
Jordanians
(3%)
each,
Indian
(2%),
with the remainder being less than 1% representations. There are 67 children
enrolledintheKGprogramme,140studentsinGrade1toGrade5,and20students
inGrade 6. The school has identified 52 students ashaving special educational
needs (SEN); 7 of these students have an external diagnostic report that has
resulted inthedevelopmentof individualizededucationplans(IEPs).Theschool
awaits results of a further 10 referrals for an external review to identify their
needs.Theschoolhasnotidentifiedanygiftedortalentedstudents.
School governance is provided by a Board of Governors. A principal, 2 vice
principals,and
a
Curriculum
Coordinator
comprise
the
senior
leadership
team,
alongwithcoordinatorsinmajorsubjectareas.
FeesatAlYasatrangeareAED30,000forKG,AED33,000 inGrades13andAED
36,500inGrades46. Thesefeesareinthepremiumcategory.
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TheEffectivenessoftheSchool
Al Yasat provides a satisfactory and improving quality of education. Senior
leaders, proprietors and governors have secured an impressively consistent
qualityofeducationacrossallperformancestandards intherelativelyshorttime
theschoolhasbeenoperational.This isattributabletoagenuinelysharedvision,
and an accurate understanding of the schools strengths and areas for
development.
Students aremaking at least satisfactory academicprogress across all subjects
fromrelativelylowstartingpoints.Thisisbecauseassessmentisusedwelltoplan
lessons thateffectivelymeet individualneeds. Inparticular, theschoolprovides
goodsupport forthosestudentswithSEN.Provisionandplanning forthemore
able is less well developed. High quality resources and an attractive learning
environmentsupport
the
effective
delivery
of
the
curriculum.
The
school
is
well
placed to tackle the areas for improvement identified by this report, and
successfullymeetthechallengesofexpandingtheschoolrollinthecomingyears.
Studentsattainment&progress
Students attainment and progress is satisfactory and improving. Academic
achievement is consistently satisfactory and improving across all subject areas
withtheexceptionofinformationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT)whereit
is satisfactory. Students basic skills in speaking, listening, reading,writing and
thinking are satisfactory and improving. The development of ICT skills is
inconsistentacross
the
curriculum;
students
make
satisfactory
progress
from
low
startingpointsinICT.StudentswithSENmakesimilarprogresstotheirpeersdue
to the effective support and monitoring they receive; the more able make
satisfactoryprogress.
Standards at the start of the school year were below international levels as
measuredbyMAPstandardizedbaselinetests.TheMAPtestforstudentsinGrade
1 to Grade 6 has been administered twice, once inOctober 2014 and again in
March2015. SubsequentMAPdatashowsgoodgainsinallsubjectsandgrades.
MAPdataindicatesthatAlYasatstudentsperformbelowinternationalstandards
butshow
more
than
satisfactory
progress
over
time,
with
the
attainment
gap
reducing. MAP data is used to inform lesson planning and identify individual
students learning needs. Evidence from lesson observations, discussionswith
students and a scrutiny ofwork supports this judgment. In almost all lessons,
teacherssuccessfullytargetageappropriateCommonCoreStandardswithmost
studentsdemonstratinganunderstandingoftheconcepts.
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MoststudentsentertheKGwithverylittleexposuretoEnglish.Theymakerapid
progress indeveloping communicationand literacy skills.AllKG1 childrenknow
their lettersandsoundsandcanphoneticallysoundoutsimplewords.Theyare
beginning
to
develop
their
thinking
and
creativity.
In
mathematics,
children
develop satisfactory number skills, in KG they can count to 100 and recognize
numbersinnumeralform.Inscience,childreninKGcanclassifymatterassolidor
liquid,butareunabletodescribethepropertiesofdifferenttypesofmatter.
Studentsmake satisfactory and improvingprogress in English language. This is
due to an innovative programme for targeting the acceleration of the
developmentofEnglish language skills. They rapidlygain confidence, from low
startingpoints,inusingEnglishtoaccessthecurriculum.Theydeveloparangeof
effectivestrategiesandskills:inGrade1theyillustratemotionbyphysicallyacting
outthewords,inGrade2theycancreatecompoundsfrom2separatewordsand
byGrade6canconfidentlycompareandcontrastcharactersindifferentstories.
In Arabic, standards are in line with curriculum expectations and progress is
satisfactory and improving. Students have good listening skills and adequate
speaking and reading abilities. They use standard Arabic and read with clear
expression.Writing isbelowagerelatedexpectations,as studentsdonothave
sufficient opportunity to compose extended pieces, and often make basic
grammaticalerrors.InIslamiceducation,attainmentandprogressaresatisfactory
and improving. Most students have secure understanding of the required
knowledgeregardingtheProphetMuhammed(PBUH)andIslamicconcepts.Their
abilityto
accurately
recite
the
Holy
Quran
is
less
well
developed.
In
social
studies,
students acquire the expected skills and understanding related to the history,
geographyandeconomyoftheMiddleEast.
In both mathematics and science, students make satisfactory and improving
progress. By Grade 2, they confidently undertake mental calculations and by
Grade6mostcansimplify,add,andsubtractfractions. Inscience,studentsgain
goodsubjectknowledgeinallgrades.Studentsdonothaveenoughopportunities
to build on this knowledge to extend their learning through exploration and
discovery. This is common across the school and is a key reason why the
developmentof
21st
century
skills
across
the
curriculum
is
only
satisfactory.
Thereareeffectivesystemsforassessingtheprogressthatstudentsmake.Most
teachers use this information to effectively target provision for students.
Assessment isverywellused inthedevelopmentofEnglish languageskills inall
grades. ThemonitoringandsupportforSENstudentsisgood.Thereislimiteduse
ofselforpeerassessment.
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Students
personal
development
Studentspersonaldevelopmentisgoodinalmosteveryaspect.Studentsshowa
consistently positive attitude towards school life. They are proud of their new
schooland
demonstrate
this
through
good
behaviour
and
engagement
in
lessons.
They socializewell in smallgroupsbefore school aswell as duringbreak time.
Theyareawareoftheschoolsvaluesandhaveaclearsenseofwhatisright,and
whatiswrong.
Students have a good knowledge of theUAE culture, traditions, heritage and
values. They show appreciation for the culture of others. They use Islamic
principles to guide their moral judgements. Selected students have roles in
assemblies with speaking and singing responsibilities. They are active in after
school activities such as sporting, cultural and service activities. The student
councilplays
a
very
active
role
in
the
school;
they
provide
input
into
many
programmes,activities,andprocesses.Outsideofthestudentcouncil,therearea
satisfactory rangeofopportunities for students todevelop leadershipskillsand
attributes.
The
quality
of
teaching
and
learning
Thequalityofteachingand learning issatisfactoryand improving.Thequalityof
lessonsobservedby inspectorsranged fromgoodtoveryunsatisfactory;onlya
smallminorityweredeemedlessthansatisfactoryandasignificantminoritywere
judgedtobegood.Themosteffective lessonswere inEnglishandmathematics;
lesseffective
teaching
was
mainly
seen
in
science
and
ICT.
Most
teachers
display
effectivemanagementstrategiesandroutines.Mostteachingassistantsareused
effectivelytosupportlearning.
Teachershavesecuresubjectknowledge inallareasandensure that learning is
accurate. Lessons are planned thoroughly andmost teachers share the lesson
objectiveswithstudentssothatlearningexpectationsareclear.Thereissufficient
varietyinmostlessonstoprovideinterestandmotivation.Studentsengagement
with learning is high duringmost lessons. Theymake better than satisfactory
progressinthemajorityoflessons.Inaminorityoflessons,toomuchteachertalk
slows
progress.
There
is
some
inconsistency
in
matching
the
learning
activities
to
theidentifiedneedsofstudents. Theprogressofthemostablelearnersisslowed
bythislackofrigour.
When given the opportunity, students learn well collaboratively and
independently. In a few lessons, student led learning creates exciting
opportunities to solve problems, work together, and use their own ideas to
formulate outcomes. In others, there are limited opportunities for them to
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develop inquiry since teachers dominate with a stepby step approach to
knowledgeacquisition.
Meeting
students
need
through
the
curriculum
The implementation of the curriculum is satisfactory and improving. The
curriculumoffer isbroadandbalancedwithadditionalopportunitiesthat include
music,art,drama,andphysicaleducation(PE)toenrichthe learningexperience.
The curriculum effectively motivates students and promotes their academic
achievement
TheMoE curriculum planning and delivery provides structure and support for
those subjects instructed in Arabic. The KG, is a locally developed curriculum
whichusesthebest internationalpracticeandpedagogysuitableforearlyyears
astheformativebase. Ithasastrongfocusuponthedevelopmentofspeaking,
reading,and
writing
in
English;
as
well
as
a
strong
numeracy
focus.
Within
a
play
andlearnformat,studentsgrowtobewellbehavedandgoodclassroomcitizens.
They learn respect for themselves, the teacher and their classmates. The KG
curriculumpromotes the refinementofgrossand finemotor skills through the
effectiveuseofmultisensoryresources.
TheUSCommonCoreCurriculumprovidesahighlevelofchallengeinEnglishand
mathematicsresultinginoutcomesthatareapproachinginternationalstandards.
ScienceinGrades1through6,reliesupontheNextGenerationScienceStandards
(NGSS) standards to provide structure in lesson planning and to identify the
expectedstudent
outcomes.
NGSS
promotes
hands
on
experiences
in
measurement,data, collection,and theuseof scientificmethodwhenproblem
solving.
Studentsgainagoodunderstandingand respect for thevaluesof theUAEand
respectforotherculturesthroughassemblies,plays,andcelebrationsthroughout
theyear.This isreinforcedbyeffectivecrosscurricular links.Approximatelyhalf
of the students are involved in awide range of after school activities such as
sporting, service, and volunteer options. The school has satisfactory linkswith
externalpartners.
The
protection,
care,
guidance
and
support
of
students
The protection, care, guidance and support of students is satisfactory and
improving. There is a strong positive ethos focused upon the growth of each
student academically, emotionally and morally. Staff understand their
responsibilitytokeepstudentssafeanddemonstratethisthroughsupervisionat
all times including during breaks and in hallways. The school has effective
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procedures tomonitorstudentsacademicandpersonaldevelopment.Thecare
providedforstudentswithSENisgood.
Theschoolmaintainsacentralregisterandmakesallnecessarychecksonadults
whowork
in
the
school.
There
is
a
clear
behaviour
policy
and
bullying
is
absolutely
forbidden,studentsreportthatitisdealtwitheffectivelybystaff. Thereisachild
protectionpolicy inplaceandadultsknow their rolesand responsibilities ifany
concerns shouldarise. Attendance isaverageat92%.The school followsupon
absencesrigorously. Thereisaprocedureinplacetoimprovepunctuality.
Theclinicisfitforpurposeandthenurseissuitablyqualified.Allmedicines,aswell
as students health records, are securely stored. The 2 prayer rooms are of
adequatesizeforthenumberofstudents,andtheyareencouragedtousethem.
Appropriateproceduresfortheevacuationoftheschoolincaseofemergencyare
inplace.
School
records
show
that
these
drills
are
practised
regularly.
The
quality
of
the
schools
buildings
and
premises
The quality of the schools buildings and premises is good. The buildings and
playgrounds are of sufficient size. Classrooms are spacious, well lit andwell
ventilated. They are maintained to high standards and are safe and hygienic.
There isanamedhealthandsafetyofficerandallrelevantpoliciesandpractices
areinorder.
The campus is kept safe and secure by security officers who are vigilant in
protectingthestudents. Curriculumsupportisprovidedthroughtheprovisionof
aswimming
pool,
an
air
conditioned
multi
purpose
gym,
libraries,
ICT
and
science
laboratories. The KG area of the school is located on the ground floor and is
especiallywelldesigned to support the learnwhile playing focus. The school
buildingsaresuitablyadaptedtosupporttheacademicandphysicalrequirements
ofSENstudentstoaccessthecurriculum.
The
schools
resources
to
support
its
aims
Resourcesaregood.Therehasbeen significant investment in resources togive
morethanadequatesupportforteachersinthedeliveryofthecurriculum. There
isanexperiencedandwellqualifiedteachingforce. Thereisan impressiverange
ofresources
in
supporting
learning
in
KG,
including
big
play
equipment,
water
park, indoor and outdoor play areas, a teaching kitchen, and awide range of
booksandmanipulatives.
The spacious libraries are well designed and equipped to create areaswhere
wholeclassactivitiescantakeplaceandotherareaswherestudentscanrelaxand
read. There are 6 computers located in each library to allow students to
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undertake research projects. There is awide range of fiction, nonfiction, and
researchbooks. ThequantityandqualityofArabicbooksislimited.
The schoolhasawide rangeof technology to support thedevelopmentof the
studentsICT
skills.
There
are
2computer
laboratories
with
enough
computers
for
eachstudenttoworkindependently.Allclassroomsareequippedwithinteractive
whiteboardsand iPadsontrolleysareavailable.Theswimmingpool,sportshall,
andothercoveredoutdoorareasprovidegoodfacilitiesforPE. Resources inart
andmusicaremorethanadequatetosupportdeliveryofthecurriculum. Schools
procedures to ensure that transport is well maintained and meets all safety
requirements,areappropriate.
Theeffectivenessofleadershipandmanagement
Leadershipandmanagement issatisfactoryand improving.Thesenior leadership
team,proprietors
and
governors,
share
a
common
vision
for
high
standards
and
sustained improvement. The proprietor and governing body have a suitably
objective view of the quality of education and clearly defined roles and
responsibilities.Senior leadersareveryvisible in the schooland theyknow the
namesandfamiliesofeverystudent. Staff,studentsandparents,haveanactive
roleinschoolevaluationandstrategicplanning.Thereisgreatcohesionamongst
the leadership team. It is clear that theyhavea sharedpurposeandvision,but
eachhastheirowngoalsandisheldaccountableforthem.
The schools selfevaluation (SEF) is detailed and the judgments are highly
accurate.The
leadership
team
are
aware
of
their
strengths
as
well
as
the
areas
thatrequireimprovement. Theschooldevelopmentplan(SDP)clearlyarticulates
strategicpriorities, the steps required to achieve themand suitablemonitoring
andevaluationprocesses.Thisclearlydemonstratesthatsenior leadershavethe
insight,resourceanddeterminationtomoveforward.
Parents are very supportive of the school and appreciate thequalityof care it
providessothattheirchildrenfeelsafeandhappy inschool. Thereareeffective
proceduresfordealingwithanyconcernsorcomplaintstheymayhave.
Capacityforfurtherdevelopment
The20152016schoolyearholdsmanychallengesforAlYasatPrivateSchoolasit
adds grades 7, 8, and 9. Senior leaders andgovernors areplanning for a large
influx of students. The school development plan contains clearly articulated
targetsandtimelinesnecessary tobemet in termsofaccommodation,staffing,
curriculum,and transportation.The first stepshavebeencompleted.There isa
new high school principal and viceprincipal already under contract. The entire
teachingstaffrequiredforSeptember2015isinplaceandcontracted. Theschool
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has successfully recruited a competent,qualified staff and are now developing
curriculumandmarshallingresources.
Seniorleadershaveclearlydemonstratedthegoodcapacitytosustainthecurrent
levelof
education
and
secure
further
improvements
to
it.
Whattheschoolshoulddotoimprovefurther:
1. Improveteachingandlearninginallsubjectareas,particularlyforthemore
able,by:
i. analysingassessmentdatatoimprovetargeteddifferentiationthat
matchesthestudentsneeds
ii. increasingthestudentsengagementasactivelearnersinlessons
iii.
improvingthe
development
of
21st
century
skills
through
independentthinking,research,experimentation,andreporting.
2.
Provide professional development to assist teachers in planning lessons
that require the students to use instructional technology to research
information,conductexperimentation,andpresenttheirconclusions.
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InspectionGrades
Band
A
High
performing
Band
B
Satisfactory
Band
C
In
need
of
significant
improvement
PerformanceStandard
Outstanding
VeryGood
Good
Satisfactory&
Improving
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Very
unsatisfactory
Poor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Standard1:Studentsattainmentandprogress
Standard2:
Studentspersonaldevelopment
Standard3:Thequalityofteachingandlearning
Standard4:Themeetingofstudentsneedsthroughthecurriculum
Standard5:Theprotection,care,guidanceandsupportofstudents
Standard6:Thequalityoftheschoolsbuildingsandpremises
Standard7:Theschoolsresourcestosupportitsaims
Standard8:Theeffectivenessofleadershipand
management
SummaryEvaluation:Theschoolsoveralleffectiveness
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