Brighton College Dubai has secured the rare across-the-board Outstanding School rating from BSO.
BSO Reports explained – why they are important
BSO Reports are important because they are exclusively underwritten by the UK government’s Department of Education. BSO too is the only reporting regime to independently measure a school’s performance against private schools in the United Kingdom.
One key benefit for parents is to be able to understand the compatibility of an international school with the highest expectations of private schools at home, this important particularly for families who wish to transfer their children home at some stage either to board or for when they return home. They also, however, provide a certain way for families to measure the quality of a UAE school against that of private schools in the UK.
There are two types of BSO inspections:
• Compliance only
• Education quality with compliance
Parents should look for schools, like Brighton College Dubai below, that have been subject to both the full quality and compliance accreditation because of the depth of reporting and its grading of schools in each category of inspection between
- Outstanding/excellent
- Good
- Satisfactory/met
- Inadequate/unsatisfactory
There are 8 areas (“standards”) that are inspected, and which must be at least met, to achieve BSO accreditation – see below.
BSO Reports have a broadly equivalent role in private schools to OFSTED’s role in the UK’s state schools, although, unlike OFSTED, BSO (international schools) and ISI (UK-based schools) reports do not make a single overarching judgement on a school but, instead, make judgements on each aspect of its provision using one of the four grades above. This level of detail means they have much more in common with the detailed reports by the official UAE school regulators including ADEC (in Abu Dhabi) and the KHDA (in Dubai).
BSO Inspection at Brighton College Dubai – what it involved
Inspectors visited 49 lessons and assemblies and parent workshops at Brighton College Dubai. Seventeen lessons were jointly observed by an inspector and a senior member of staff. There were 23 meetings which took place with leaders, teachers, pupils, parents and carers and members of the school’s governing board. Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work in books and the work produced digitally. They analysed a wide range of documents relating to assessment, policies and operational and strategic plans. The school’s safeguarding arrangements were inspected. The views of parents, pupils and staff were also considered in both the school’s recent surveys and the BSO survey, which was sent to parents and teachers immediately prior to the inspection.
Overall rating
Brighton College Dubai is ranked across-the-board Outstanding by BSO:
“Brighton College Dubai is an outstanding school.
[The school] provides an outstanding quality of education for pupils from three to 18 years.”
“This is an inclusive, diverse school with a strong commitment to safeguarding and equality. Children thrive and love to learn in the caring, supportive and tolerant environment witnessed by BSO inspectors.
Pupils are genuinely happy and kind to one another.”
The BSO accreditation as an Outstanding School is endorsed by the British Government, quality assured by Ofsted and is valid for a period of three years between November 2022 and November 2025.
What aspects of provision were inspected?
The 8 areas (“standards”) that are inspected, and which must be at least met, to achieve BSO accreditation are:
| BSO requirement | Brighton College Dubai Scoring |
Standard 1: The quality of education provided by the school including the quality of its
|
Outstanding (Excellent) |
| Standard 2: The school’s achievement in the area of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils | Outstanding (Excellent) |
| Standard 3: The welfare, health and safety of pupils | Outstanding (Excellent) |
| Standard 4: School ownership, governance and management | Met in full* |
| Standard 5: The quality of school facilities | Outstanding (Excellent) |
| Standard 6: The quality of a school’s communication with parents, carers and other stakeholders | Outstanding (Excellent) |
| Standard 7: The school’s procedures for handling complaints | Met in full* |
| Standard 8: The quality of school leadership and management | Outstanding (Excellent) |
Stand-out achievements and what sets Brighton College Dubai apart
English language and Literature:
“Attainment and progress in English are outstanding across all phases of the school.”
“There is no significant difference between the attainment of boys and girls.”
Students in Year 12 are on course to achieve A*, A and B grades.
Mathematics:
“Attainment and progress in mathematics are outstanding across all phases of the school.”
“Boys and girls exhibit no meaningful difference in attainment or progress in mathematics.”
Science:
“Attainment and progress in science are outstanding across all phases of the school.”
“Children have an enthusiasm for science.”
“By the end of Year 6 most pupils attain results significantly above the global average. Over half of all pupils are working above the English national curriculum expectations for their age.]”
“GCSE results are outstanding across science subjects but particularly in biology where almost all achieved grades 7 to 9.”
“The one pupil with SEN made good progress this year, achieving one grade higher than expected in all three sciences.”
Breadth of curriculum:
Brighton College Dubai offers outstanding breadth of subect options and qualification pathways for its students. The school offers students a choice of 22 subjects at GCSE, a BTEC in music and a choice of 19 A-level subjects.
Brighton College Dubai Sixth Form prospectus
All pupils at Brighton College Dubai complete the higher project qualification (HPQ) and the extended project qualification (EPQ) is offered at A level. A choice of 336 co-curricular activities (CCAs) are offered to students to enrich the formal curriculum including golf, rowing, horse riding, sailing and the Junior Duke and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. “Pupils’ participation is high.”
“The quality of the curriculum provided by the school is outstanding.”
“Pupils make excellent progress in a range of other subjects across the curriculum. Over the past two years, on average, pupils have achieved higher results in GCSE than predicted in most subjects.
“Results at the higher grades far exceed UK averages.”
“Pupils clearly enjoy all aspects of the wide curriculum.”
“Brighton College Dubai provides a broad and balanced curriculum that consistently offers rich, varied and highly engaging lessons and extra-curricular opportunities.”
“The curriculum fully prepares pupils for the transition to a UK school or university.”
There is a wealth of opportunity for pupils to learn about Britain and being British, from activities promoting democracy with house and pupil council elections, mock Scottish and Brexit referendums and democracy week to the school code of conduct that
respects diversity and promotes tolerance.”“Politics is now a new subject offered at A level following pupils’ feedback.”
“The curriculum is aligned to the school ethos, delivering a culture of curiosity, confidence and kindness.”
Teaching:
“The quality of teaching and assessment are outstanding.”
“Teachers plan engaging and challenging lessons, exploiting many different teaching methodologies and multiple learning resources.”
“Lesson objectives are pitched correctly to meet age and curriculum expectations.”
“All teachers demonstrate solid subject knowledge, an in-depth understanding of the curriculum and an appreciation of the demands of the year ahead and, in higher year groups, the requirements of final examinations.”
“Teaching pace and level of challenge are both high, yet the pupils thrive.”
Whole child development:
“Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.”
Brighton College Dubai is an inclusive school that values the uniqueness of each pupil and encourages and nurtures their physical, intellectual, emotional and social development, irrespective of their starting points.”
Pupils are kind, responsible and caring individuals. Their behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. There are strong, positive and respectful relationships among pupils and between pupils and staff.
Staff and governors are highly ambitious for all pupils, encouraging them to be ‘a first-class version of themselves, not a second-class version of someone else’.
Pupils proudly say that ‘kindness is what connects us’.
Care of children:
“The welfare, health and safety of the pupils are outstanding.”
“The school is a safe, supportive and tolerant environment in which pupils are valued equally and treat one and other with respect, adhering to the school’s core value of kindness.”
“The school is proactive in promoting equality.”
“New pupils settle quickly with help from buddies and generally find friends and feel happy. House leaders and form tutors proactively monitor new students to ensure smooth transitions. Staff, and pupils themselves, understand their responsibilities and duties to look after the welfare of all pupils. This happens across all age groups and is supported by the house system. Sixth-form pupils make sure younger ones feel sufficiently comfortable to approach them.”
School leadership:
“The leadership and management of the school are outstanding.”
“The headmaster is highly visible in and around the school, ensuring that he is approachable. He and his highly effective and stable senior leadership team lead by example. All leaders bring about improvement and inspire ambition. Indeed in the recent survey, teachers commented on leaders being consistent, supportive and passionate at all times. The school’s core values of curiosity, confidence and kindness are fully evident in the team culture across the school.”
“Teachers feel valued and are proud to work at the school.”
Governance:
“The governing board is made up of representatives from Brighton College UK and Bloom Education.”
“Bloom education and Brighton College UK carry out annual reviews with regular follow-up visits for quality assurance and to support development.”
“The parent council meets half termly and feeds directly into governance. Parent voice is an important part of the school that has been further enhanced by the introduction of parent ambassadors.”
Who completed the Inspections?
The British government permits only the following three active organisations to complete BSO inspections:
- Education Development Trust
- Penta International
- International Schools Inspectorate
For the most part, schools in Dubai request an inspection through the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau which works in partnership with the Education Development Trust, although Penta International also has particular strength in the region. Interestingly, the Education Development Trust played a pivotal role in establishing the DSIB, this explaining perhaps the similarities between BSO and KHDA inspections. The ISI, in distinction, probably the best known in the UK, currently inspects only one school in the UAE. All 3 organisations are quality assured by OFSTED and provide an identical, very high quality of inspection.
Further information
Read more on school leadership here.
Read the full BSO Report on Brighton College Dubai here.
Visit the official Brighton College Dubai web site here.
A full list of schools BSO inspected by Penta International can be found here.
A full list of schools BSO inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate can be found here.
A full list of BSO schools inspected by the Educational Development Trust can be read here.
© SchoolsCompared.com. A WhichMedia Group publication. 2022. All rights reserved.
Leave a Response