Choosing your child’s school in the UAE is one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make as a parent, which is why it’s important to get it right.
Dubai Heights Acamdemy principal Allison Lamb, gives us her top tips to help make your decision a teeny bit less daunting.
Location
For most parents, the location of a school, the transportation provided and the distance their child will need to travel on a daily basis is a huge factor, with a lot of families preferring to select a school which is close to home.
School fees
While selecting the best school possible with the most impressive academic results is important, parents need to be fully aware of the fees involved and select a school which offers a manageable payment structure for them.
Curriculum
The curriculum followed, and indeed the range of subjects taught, are often the most important deciding factors for families. These are extremely important when looking at the future examinations that your child will take, and indeed, the future qualifications that they may require for future studies or employment.
School tours
Before making any decisions, it’s important to visit and participate in a tour of all schools on your consideration list. Just a short visit, during school hours, can be enough to help you and your child identify a school’s strengths and challenges.
During these tours you can assess whether the school is safe and secure and gauge the overall positivity of both pupils and staff as well as viewing the facilities available, meeting with teachers and seeing other students in their daily environment and observing how they interact with their fellow students.
School Leadership
The final factors to consider are school leadership and quality of education provided. Always do your research, read up on KDHA school inspection reports and prepare a list of questions so you can establish the school’s strengths and potential weaknesses.
And don’t be afraid to ask for a detailed briefing on the leadership or to question the structure of a school, it’s vision and of course it’s philosophy as these will provide the basis for your child’s learning and consequently their future.
In general, high performing schools usually have a great deal of parental involvement and are usually very engaging, as they rely on parent interaction and involve parents in every aspect of school life and school decisions.
See, not so daunting after all.
www.dubaiheightsacademy.com.
