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The Sheffield Private School, Al Nahda 2 -THE REVIEW
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Review

The Sheffield Private School, Al Nahda 2 -THE REVIEW

by August 11, 2019

The Sheffield Private School Dubai – updated August 2021, KHDA, Fees

The Sheffield Private School Dubai (TSPS] is a for-profit, near full-phase English national Curriculum school offering education from EYFS through to (I)GCSE GCE A’ Level. Historically, we rated the school very poorly – more on this below.

However, in 2019, this is a very different school – and one that is now, in our view, worthy of consideration by parents. The transformation of school provision since 2016 is in many ways extraordinary and highly commendable.

 

The Sheffield Private School History

Historically,the school provided insufficient information for prospective parents to benchmark the school in the sector or make a considered decision for considering the school for their children. Information provided to us in March 2016 was some of the most limited provided by any school in the Emirates, extraordinary for an established school and particularly one managed by a UK qualified Principal.

Information gaps included

  • No information on Post-16 GCE A’ Level provision
  • Limited information on (I)GCSE provision limited only to subjects offered
  • No information on school ownership
  • No information on examination performance at any phase
  • No developed information on facilities
  • No information on Special Educational Needs provision
  • No published newsletters
  • No parental portal

Published information too was consistently out-of-date, or simply wrong. The last significant school information was, then, published in 2014. Sheffield did not provide the basic level of information needed by all parents to gain even a moderate understanding of a school.

GEMS_INARTICLE  

It is worth noting that the school’s owner historically employed GEMS to run the school (2009), but terminated their management contract.

Despite being an English National Curriculum school prospective parents should also note that no provision is made at the Shefield Private School Dubai for the teaching of GCE A’ Level English. This is accounted for by the school because nearly all children learn English as an Additional Language [EAL].

The school has been rated “Satisfactory” for 7 years, the lowest possible accreditation before a school is placed in special measures. KHDA Inspectors noted in 2014-15 that school failings are significant in the following areas:

  • Teachers lack the ability and training to identify and support children with Special Educational Needs [SEN]
  • Many children are effectively excluded from Post-16 educational provision at the school because of the limited choice of subjects offered to AS or GCE A’ Level
  • Unstable retention of teaching staff with a 33% turnover off teachers impacting on children across phases
  • Limited monitoring of student progress
  • Post-16 Special Educational Needs [SEN] is unsatisfactory and does not meet a minimum standard to educate children
  • Additional language Arabic provision is unsatisfactory and does not meet a minimum standard to educate children
  • Students at secondary and post-16 phases have insufficient opportunity to develop critical thinking skills or apply learning outside text books.
  • Post-16 students lack the confidence to work independently
  • At Foundation Stage some teachers “do not fully understand how to foster younger children’s learning”
  • Recruitment at Post-16 is reactive to current needs and the school has no planned approach to future growth
  • The space available in school is limited for the number and size of the students resulting in overcrowding
  • The FS learning infrastructure is poor slowing children’s progress
  • The stock of books in the library does not meet curriculum needs

The school scored “Outstanding” in a single area – for its provision for the health and safety of students across every phase, including child protection; guidance on cyber-bullying and Internet risk; excellent supervision of children both at school and on buses; risk assessments and fire drills; record keeping of medical staff; promotion of healthy eating; and prompt and effective repairs to the school as required to ensure a safe educational environment.

 

School Fees

Year Group Annual

Tuition Fee

(AED)

Deposit to

Secure Seat due on

acceptance of place 

Winter (First) Term:

balance

payment due on 29th

August 2021

Spring

(Second) Term: payment due on 2nd

January 2022

Summer

(Third) Term: payment due on 10th April

2022

FS1 – FS2 21,848 2,185 6,554 6,555 6,554
Y1 – Y6 25,942 2,594 7,782 7,783 7,783
Y7 – Y9 30,723 3,072 9,217 9,217 9,217
Y10 – Y11 34,135 3,413 10,241 10,241 10,240
Y12 – Y13 41,201 4,120 12,360 12,361 12,360

Book Fee

FS1 – FS2 Year 1 – Year 2 Year 3 – Year 6 Year 7 – Year 11* Year 12 – Year 13*
449 843 1,123 1,404 1,685

Sibling Discount

Number of Children 1st or Eldest Child 2nd Child 3rd Child 4th Child 5th Child
2 Children 5%
3 Children 5% 15%
4 Children 5% 15% 25%
5 Children 5% 15% 25% 30%

 

Sheffield Private School Dubai Facilities

Facilities at the school include three fully equipped ICT labs; art studio; drama studio; music rooms; networked/wi-fi equipped classrooms with projectors; library and shaded/canopied outside areas for play. Sporting facilities include a covered five lane swimming pool and learner pool;  multi-purpose hall with facilities for volleyball, badminton, basketball and gymnastics;  covered netball courts; and astro-turf football and hockey pitches.

Main competitive sports at the school are cricket, football and netball.

The schools extra-curricular provision includes a homework club; doodle and graffiti club; Lego club; French club; netball clubs; football clubs; art and craft club; painting club; literacy club; reading and writing for non-Arabs; Islamic values clubs; “Science Whizz” club; and drama society.

Bottom line? The SchoolsCompared.com Verdict 2019

In 2016 we argued:

“In summary, whilst individual KHDA inspections can only reasonably provide a snapshot in time of any school, the consistently acceptable reporting of the school over seven years, taken with the serious nature of concerns expressed by the KHDA, the instability of faculty and complete failure of the school to provide meaningful public information to prospective parents, means that it is simply not possible to responsibly recommend Sheffield Private School Dubai. The best that can be said for Sheffield is that it is a “safe” school for children to attend.”

Our view today is very different. Curriculum provision is strong across IGCSE and A Level, information is now relatively transparent – and English and Mathematics provision at A Level is outstanding. We will be visiting this school later this year and will provide a more detailed view of current provision view then.

© SchoolsCompared.com 2019

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Details to consider
2018/19 Overall ADEK / KHDA Rating

Good with Very Good and Outstanding features

2017/18 Overall ADEC / KHDA Rating

Good

2016/17 Overall ADEC / KHDA Rating

Good

2015/16 Overall KHDA / ADEC Rating

Acceptable

Rating FS

Good

Rating Primary / Elementary

Good

Rating Secondary / Middle

Very Good

Rating Post 16 / High

Outstanding

Type of school

Private, for-profit

Full WSA Review
Average Cost Per Year

FS1: 21,848 +449 Book Fee
FS2: 21,848 + 449 Book Fee
YEAR 1: 25,942 + 843 book fee
YEAR 2: 25,942 + 843 book fee
YEAR 3: 25,942 + 1,123 book fee
YEAR 4: 25,942 + 1,123 book fee
YEAR 5: 25,942 + 1,123 book fee
YEAR 6: 25,942 + 1,123 book fee
YEAR 7: 30,723 + 1,404 book fee
YEAR 8: 30,723 + 1,404 book fee
YEAR 9: 30,723 + 1,404 book fee
YEAR 10: 34,135 + 1,404 book fee
YEAR 11: 34,135 + 1,404 book fee
YEAR 12: 41,201 + 1,685 book fee
YEAR 13: 41,201 + 1,685 book fee

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England
EYFS
(I)GCSE O' Level
GCE A' Level
BTEC

External Exam Boards

Cambridge
EDEXCEL
Note: KHDA state the school does not have accreditation as of November 2014)
Pearson

Number of A Levels offered

17

A Levels offered

Mathematics
English Literature
Media Studies
Islamic Education
Arabic 1st and 2nd Language
Physics
Biology
Chemistry
Economics
Business Studies
Accounting
Sociology
Psychology
Art
History
Geography
ICT

A Level A* to A

Not published

A Level A* to C

Not published

IGCSE A* to C

Not published

IGCSE A* to A

Not published

Number of I/GCSEs Offered

25

I/GCSEs offered

Mathematics
Statistics
English Language
English Literature
Media Studies
Islamic Education
Arabic 1st and 2nd Language
Physics
Biology
Chemistry
Combined Science
Economics
Business Studies
Accounting
Travel and Tourism
Environmental Management
Sociology
Psychology
Physical Education
Art
History
Geography
ICT
French
Personal Health and Social Education

Selective

Partial
FS2 onwards:
• formal assessment
• school reports / reference
Post 16:
• at least 5 A*-C grades for Post-16 A-Level entry
• recommended minimum (I) GCSE B grade in subjects to be studied at A/S or A level
Special Educational Needs [SEN]:
• Fully inclusive

Waiting list

Not published

Value Added

Not published

Number of Students

1480 (2019)
1622 (2016)

Teacher to Student Ratio

1:13 (2019)
1:16 (2016)

Largest nationality teachers

UK

Teacher turnover

20% (2019)
32% (2016)

Year opened

2004

Location

Al Nahda 2, Dubai

Student composition

Indian (largest nationality)
Emirati: 20
Special Educational Needs [SEN]: 47

Gender

Mixed, co-educational

School canteen

Yes (2)

Owner

Private
Shares owned by Gulf Islamic Investments [GLL] (December 2014)
Managing Director: Nand Lal

Admissions Telephone

+971 (0) 4 267 8444

Web Address
Attainment Nur SEM

60%

Attainment Pri SEM

60%

Attainment Sec SEM

80%

Attainment Post-16 SEM

90%

Progress Nur SEM

60%

Progress Pri SEM

60%

Progress Sec SEM

80%

Progress Post-16 SEM

90%

Arabic Native Primary Results (Native)

50%

Arabic Secondary Results (Native)

40%

Arabic Post-16 Results (Native)

40%

Arabic Primary Results (Add.)

50%

Arabic Secondary Results (Add.)

20%

Arabic Post-16 Results (Add.)

NA

Islamic St. Primary Results

40%

Islamic St. Secondary Results

40%

Islamic St. Post-16 Results

40%

Leadership

80%

Community

80%

Facilities

60%

Quality of teaching

65%

Student personal responsibility

85%

Quality of curriculum

85%

School Governance

60%

SEN Provision

65%

Strengths

• Attention to detail across health and safety provision at the school
• Astonishing level of improvement to school provision in the last three years
• Attractive school design externally
• High levels of school transparency
• Outstanding Sixth Form provision in English and Mathematics
• Curriculum breadth including BTEC
• High performing school leadership

Weaknesses

• Arabic subjects

Rating
Our Rating
User Rating
Rate Here
Academic
B+
C+
Value
A-
B-
ExtraCurricula
B
B-
Languages
B
C+
Sports
B
B+
Arts & Drama
B
B-
Teaching
B+
B-
Communications
A-
C+
Warmth
A
B-
Differentiation
B+
B-
SEND Provision
B+
C+
Scl Community
A
B-
Scl Facilities
B
B
Opportunities

What a change since 2016 when we saw this school as one failing on almost every front. Sheffield School has invested significantly and proved its critics, including ourselves, wrong. The school's teachers, leadership, owners, families - and students - deserve considerable credit.

B+
Our Rating
B-
User Rating
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Top of shortlist
45%
In my Top 5
9%
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3%
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9%
Pass
6%
No way
27%
About The Author
Jon Westley
Jon Westley is the Editor of SchoolsCompared.com and WhichSchoolAdvisor.com UK. You can email him at jonathanwestley [at] schoolscompared.com

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Academic
Value
ExtraCurricula
Languages
Sports
Arts & Drama
Teaching
Communications
Warmth
Differentiation
SEND Provision
Scl Community
Scl Facilities