Kids World International Nursery FZCO, China Cluster, International City
Updated December 2016
Kids World opened its first branch in Al Nahda, Sharjah in 2004 and has grown to number two further branches, one in China Cluster, International City and a second at The Crest Executive Tower, Jumeirah Lake Towers, both in Dubai. A fourth is planned for opening in Jumeirah Village Circle in 2016-17.
The nurseries are developed by Lovita Tariq, Kids World’s flamboyant CEO, as a response to her perceived lack in quality Montessori nursery provision, and particularly a Montessori approach that is underpinned by traditional learning. It is in the combination of both approaches that she says offers the greatest benefit to children.
In the early days, as very much a pioneer in the sector, whichschooladvisor had some (inevitable perhaps) feedback about lack of communication and unanswered emails; the group found itself swamped with applications for places and as a young organisation was simply swamped.
Today whichschooladvisor feedback reflect a mature organisation operating at the top of its game on the ground and at Head Office. Impressively, a whichschooladvisor investigation in 2016 received an email response personally from the school’s owner within 24 hours of sending an enquiry from a prospective parent. Parental feedback too on in-nursery provision itself has been uniformly good. On this basis whichschooladvisor reports positively on communication and provision within the nurseries.
Registration is relatively quick, requiring a photocopy of your child(ren)’s passport(s), residency page(s); birth certificate(s) and immunisation records together with 4 passport photographs.
Despite its declared mission to provide affordable nursery provision, fees are middle-high tier. For full half day provision parents need to budget for fees in excess of DHS22,000 per annum, although this includes a “uniform” and field trips. These can be reduced by reducing the time children spend at the nursery and are payable in instalments.
Provision is of a high quality and classes are small, around 12 children per member of staff. More importantly whichschooladvisor found staff that were consistently highly engaged, passionate, attentive – and fun; consistency of approach is not always easy when meeting the demands of children within a Montessori ‘play’ based framework curriculum centred on a greater degree of individual, child-lead play.
A major USP is the shopfront locations of the nurseries in the hubbub of Dubai community and life; the intention was always to integrate children in society rather in separate, often closed off buildings. Despite the cost, it is a model Mrs Tariq will not change, believing with conviction that the benefits of a shopfront location to each child’s education are immense. The only trade-off with traditional, Tier 1 nursery provision, is the lack of outside playing fields and facilities, although these are designed to be compensated for in the Kids World combination of field trips and shopfront “bustle.”
The importance of this integration-founded approach is reaffirmed through genuinely fabulous, often inspirational, fieldtrips. For whichschooladvisor this sort of active approach clearly resulted in inspired children.
Classrooms themselves are divided into five areas, each brought alive with colour and children’s work as well as being themed to each of the core centres of the curriculum: Practical; Numerals; Language; Sensorial and Environment.
Since first opening each nursery now operates on a unique, “blended” Montessori-Traditional curriculum developed in the nurseries themselves. Montessori alone produced weaker results than a blended approach, particularly given the transient nature of Dubai life in which not all children are able to remain with the nursery through a full three-year programme of toddler, pre-primary and primary provision.
Within these groupings, activities are clearly structured and well thought out in four tailored teaching groups: Infant-Toddlers, Toddler, Pre-Primary and Montessori Kindergarten.
Learning uses the spectrum of traditional and Montessori approaches at this age including painting; sand play; traditional free play, storytelling; manipulative play; cooking; water; blocks; modelling and focus work.
Nursery provision is increasingly competitive and the landscape for prospective parents offers significant choice. Notwithstanding this, whichschooladvisor found in its inspections a successful, child orientated environment across all three Kids World nurseries currently operating in the group, all with good levels of staffing, inspired teaching – and happy children.
With primary school’s increasingly insisting on effective nursery education as a pre-requisite of entry, and increasing educational weighting on play-based education from an early age, whichschooladvisor found much to recommend Kids World to parents.
As with all nurseries, a visit is absolutely critical, preferably with your child(ren). Experience on the ground of the very different ‘feel’ of every nursery, parental comfort with teacher styles and curriculum – and each child’s sense that they will feel at home, is every bit as important at this age as it is later in each child’s education.
Go to the FULL REVIEW on WhichSchoolAdvisor.comPrivate, for-profit
One-time non-refundable registration fee: 500
Annual Fees (inc. uniform and field trip) - Girls: 22,125 + Bus fees (7:30am - 12:00pm)
Annual fees (inc. uniform and field trip) - Boys: 22,105 + Bus fees
Montessori-Traditional hybrid
No
Yes
Not published
Groups of 12
1:12
2004 (Founding branch)
China Cluster, International City, Dubai
(Also branches in Al Nahda - Sharjah and The Crest Executive Tower - Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai)
Mixed, co-educational
Kids World Group
+971 (0) 4 422 6867
100%
NA
NA
NA
100%
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
75%
100%
75%
100%
100%
100%
NA
NA
• Unique hybrid blended Montessori-traditional approach
• Passionate, committed teaching
• Inspired children
• Shopfront locations offering children the stimulation and hubbub of Dubai life
• Very well planned curriculum across all nursery phases
• Cleverly designed, well thought out themed nurseries with free flow between each themes centre of learning
• Small class sizes and high teacher levels per child
• No advertised specialist focus on children with Special Educational Needs [SEN] (although the owner emphasised to whichschooladvisor that, with parental support, she would go the extra mile to help all children if at all possible)
• Fees higher than the intended value mission statement would suggest, although, for whichschooladvisor, these are justified by the strength of provision
• Lack of outside play areas and facilities, including a swimming pool, will deter some parents
Montessori approach
Poor communication, zero transparency with parents, dominating administrator with aggressive approach, does not entertain parent queries with interest. Staff never has time to talk personally or over the phone with parent.
Transparency and a welcoming attitude missing in the administrator and school staff.