The Best School for Children of Determination in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – 2024 Revealed. Top Schools Award Winner. Official.
The Winner
The SchoolsCompared.com Top Schools Awards for
The Best School for Children of Determination in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – 2024
is awarded to:
Kings’ School Al Barsha
Our view of Kings’ School Al Barsha
Web: https://kings-edu.com/albarsha/
KHDA: Outstanding
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/new-schools-in-uae/kings-al-barsha/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/kings-school-al-barsha
At SchoolsCompared.com, and across our sister sites, the letters we receive from parents with issues surrounding both Admissions and care for students of determination are more often than not deeply frustrating and some case heart-breaking.
For goodness sake, how difficult can it be? It’s time for some straight talking.
Schools are nervous here – not all schools, but far too many. We are still not a society that recognises the wonders of difference when arguably it matters most – in Education. And it is about the wonders of difference, because this is as much about children who are not those of Determination, as it is those that are.
Our world is filled with every sort of human being – and schools that do not represent this do a profound disservice to their students. Determination covers such a vast spectrum of these differences.
Take a deaf, or a blind child. Of course, adjustments need to be made. But these children experience the world in an extraordinary way – a different way. Their other senses are generally much more alive and vibrant than those belonging to those of us without these differences. They are as much gifts as they are disadvantages. They add colour to our world in places we too often miss completely.
Children with autism can be some of those most extraordinarily accomplished in any number of areas. So often these are twice-exceptional children. And at least twice the number of autistic children are more gifted than their non Determined counterparts.
And children in wheel chairs – my goodness just spend even hour experiencing the extraordinary abilities of those taking part in the Paralympic or Invictus Games and most of us would be thoroughly ashamed at own our lack of Determination – in every sense of the word.
And the situation with schools can get even more complicated. We know of schools that are quite theoretically open to accepting applications from families with a Child or Children of Determination. But…. when it comes to the small print, the costs! Essentially the costs are so loaded on families that they might as well have been rejected. This in our experience can include even issues like Diabetes where some schools, which shall remain nameless, load costs on the parents for shadow teachers. There are times this year when we have been honestly appalled.
Can you imagine being told that you will have to pay on top of standard school fees for an extra full time teacher for your child?
Kings’ School Al Barsha rejects this awful practice absolutely, and unequivocally:
“Our approach to Shadow Teachers is as follows. Across the school students receive support on a personalised and individualised basis. Where a high level of need is apparent and additional staff are required a discussion is held with parents to provide the best support possible. Students in Secondary receive support from shared specialised staff on a pro rata basis while in Primary students receive support from a dedicated member of staff, this can either be on a full time or part time basis. Staff are employed by the school directly.”
Lesser schools should take note – and this includes some Tier 1s who definitely have the funds, and should certainly have the moral compass, to know, and do, better.
We do not think that there can be a single committed educationalist in the UAE who is not mortified at the variability of school responses to the admission of our absolutely wonderful, and wonder-filled, and beyond-inspiring community of children of Determination. We have to collectively start putting this right.
And it is with this background that is time now to unambiguously praise all the Kings’ Schools in Dubai for their absolutely beautiful, humane and inclusive welcome to, and treatment of, Children and Students of Determination.
It is difficult to write about this because most schools do not want to be celebrated for their achievements for Children of Determination – they are worried that so many Children of Determination will apply they simply will have no choice but to refuse a place. And for these schools – that hurts.
We know how open Kings’ schools as a whole are to Children of Determination and how amazingly well they are looked after from countless letters from parents – and many educators who have advised us, informally, off the record, based on their direct experiences of the way that Kings’ Schools truly work behind the scenes. You will not find whistle-blowers publicly because the stakes are so high here. But, for Kings’ Education we have uniquely had absolutely unambiguously positive feedback. We would go so far as to day that Kings’ Education are the real heroes in UAE Education – who genuinely walk the walk on leaving no child behind.
It is very difficult to put into words how much praise we heap on Kings’ Schools. But stand-out for us is Kings’ Al Barsha. This is an important year for the school because 2023 is the year the school, like its sisters, became officially ranked Outstanding for its inclusion with the KHDA. This is no easy achievement. We know just how deeply the KHDA care about this issue. It really matters to them. This is a school, in fact, ranked Outstanding consistently since just its third inspection, the earliest point as a rule that the KHDA will grant this rare and so creditable accolade. But it is in the categories of Curriculum Adaptation, Care for Students, Leadership and Governance that you can understand how well a school is really achieving here. Kings’ Al Barsha is awash with the green Outstanding rankings in an across-the-board praise for its commitment to Children of Determination. A school that welcomes, looks after, and achieves for its Children of Determination is one that is truly joined up – one which shines brightly as every single aspect of school life is linked in a commitment to genuinely delivering on inclusion. It’s not about money – it’s about doing the right thing for every single child – determined or otherwise.
It’s difficult know schools who are really stars in Determination. You just cannot tell by the Admissions Policies. All schools have a policy saying they will accept Determined children – but it’s always qualified. So the only real way of knowing is in practice. Unbelievably this often means parents paying to go through the process of Admissions, for a place that probably never existed. Kings’ School Al Barsha really tries to make the point that it does care:
“At Kings’ we welcome applications for admission from all families regardless of nationality, ethnicity, learning need or religion. Once an application is processed, a range of different age-appropriate assessment strategies take place and offers are made based on the outcome of these assessments. Kings’ Education has a strong commitment to the inclusion and pastoral support of all its families and students; this includes students who are identified as Students of Determination, English as a Second Language, High Achievers and More and exceptionally able Students. Places are offered based on our guiding principle, that we are able to meet a child’s learning needs to provide ‘the best by every child’.
“Students of Determination Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Kings’ schools welcome applications for all children and understand that some children require additional support or consideration to access the curriculum. Across our network of schools, we are able to accommodate a range of special educational needs, abilities and barriers. Each child will be considered on a case-by-case basis. They will undergo our standard assessment process (if appropriate) and depending on their needs we may request some additional assessments and a meeting with our Inclusion team. We will only offer places where we are sure that we can meet the needs of the individual child and after consulting with the KHDA.”
What we know, in practice, too, is that Kings’ School Al Barsha will genuinely accept as many children of Determination as it can – it has open arms. If a place is not available it hurts them as much as the family who cannot secure that place. The school goes out on a limb to make whatever adjustments it can. Currently, depending on year, between 8% and 10% of all applications from families with Determined Children are accepted. And once accepted the quality of provision is beyond-outstanding.
Kings’ Al Barsha currently welcomes children with almost every type of Determination, in areas areas from behaviour, social and emotional determinations; sensory and physical determinations; medical conditions and health related determinations; communication and interaction determinations including hearing impairment; and the range of specific learning determinations from dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and ASD, to those who are gifted and talented. Kings’ School Al Barsha is a genuine home for every child.
And investment is serious. The school has specialists in Speech and Language, Dyslexia, Autism, English as an Additional Language and Gifted and Talented. The leaders of the SEND Departments are British Qualified to Masters level.
It is worth quoting in full one of our advisors here:
“I can tell you quite factually that Kings’ Education – and particularly Al Barsha, is the best school for Children of Determination I have experienced in more than five years working at the very heart of this sector. The Team here are absolutely world class.”
The test of a civilised society is surely how well it treats its children, and the way it treats its most vulnerable. Kings’ School Al Barsha comes out with flying colours for both. What an amazing school. What an amazing achievement. It does not come better in Education than this. And a very big related thank you too, to the KHDA and school regulators across the Emirates, who are so powerfully committed to inclusion and care for all children. They lead from the front – and are a very moving, very important group of individuals and leaders who set the most beautiful, humane and deeply honourable example to us all.
Award Presentation
Best-School-for-Children-of-Determination-Kings-School-Winner-Certificate
The Top Schools Award for Best School for Children of Determination in the United Arab Emirates 2023 – 2024 will be presented to Kings; School Al Barsha at a special Breakfast Celebration at The Emirates Golf Club on the morning of 16th November 2023. At the event the recipient of The Top Schools Awards 2023 – 2024 for Outstanding Contribution to Education will be revealed.
Historic winners of the Outstanding Contribution to Education in the UAE Award include H.E. Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, recognised for his era defining leadership of Education in Dubai as a force for good; and the Varkey Family, for their instrumental role in shaping education in the UAE, and ensuring the life chances for generations of children, following the founding of GEMS Education in 1959.
Our Finalists.
Our extraordinary Finalists and those schools which have achieved outstandingly in so many ways for children in the Best School for Children of Determination category follow. Each of the following schools are recognised for their profound contribution to the education of all children in UAE Education:
Dubai British School Emirates Hills
Web: https://www.dubaibritishschool.ae
KHDA: Outstanding
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/dubai-british-school-emirates-hills
GEMS Metropole School
Web: https://www.gemsmetropoleschool-dubai.com/en
KHDA: Good with Very Good and Outstanding Features
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/new-schools-in-uae/gems-metropole-school-motor-city/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/gems-metropole-school
Safa Community School
Web: https://www.safacommunityschool.com
KHDA: Very Good with Predominant Outstanding Features
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/new-schools-in-uae/safa-community-school-dubai-al-barsha-south/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/safa-community-school
Smart Vision School Dubai
KHDA: Good with Very Good Features
Review: https://schoolscompared.com/all-through/dubai-all-through/smart-vision-school-al-barsha-2/
Review: https://whichschooladvisor.com/uae/school-review/smart-vision-school
A final note.
The Top Schools Awards takes over a year to produce. It engages with parents, students educators and educationalists over countless months, and the work invested in these Awards is the stuff of sleepless nights and deeply felt responsibility. We produce these Awards to celebrate our amazing schools, our magnificent teachers – who are the centre of the universe, our school leaders, whose lives will be judged by their impact on children, and the amazing students that they build a future for. These Awards are only about recognising this – in a world in which our schools and educators have far, far too little recognition. If on exploring these Awards you do one single thing, it should be to reach out to each and every one and thank them for all they do, each and every one of our schools, teachers and school leaders. You have absolutely no idea how much that would mean.
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