Abu Dhabi's top performing schools to face fewer inspections

Abu Dhabi's Department of Education and Knowledge has said that schools that are rated Outstanding or Very Good over three consecutive inspections will only be inspected once every four years, instead of once every two years.

The announcement follows the latest round of inspections, which showed 47% improvement in school performance from the previous round of inspections.

These schools, however, will be expected to support poor performing schools in the emirate.

The latest inspection results - from 2015/16 and 2016/17 - show that 83 schools out of a total of 191 schools have improved from the previous round, representing a 78% improvement rate amongst schools in the UAE capital.

Forty percent of schools are rated Good or above in three core performance standards: students' achievement, teaching and assessment, and leadership and management.

According to the inspection results, 39% (75 out of 191 schools) are high performing or Band A schools, while 39% (74 out of 191 schools) are satisfactory or Band B schools and 22% (42 out of 191 schools) are in need of significant improvement or Band C schools.

There are 39% high performing schools (good and above) compared to 14 percent in round three, out of which four schools are outstanding, 17 very good schools, 54 good schools, 74 acceptable schools, 35 weak schools and seven very weak schools.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Band C schools dropped between the two inspections rounds from 46% to 22%.

Hamad Al Dhaheri, executive director of the Private Schools and Quality Assurance sector at ADEK said: "Results from the inspection round four are promising and just go to show the tremendous effort exerted by most of the schools, who have partnered with the Department of Education and Knowledge to achieve overall improvement in education.

"Schools that have improved are familiar with the Department of Education and Knowledge regulations and work hand-in-hand with the different and relevant divisions within the Department of Education and Knowledge to ensure students are offered the quality education our leaders and government aspires, one that promotes talent, innovation, dedication and determination amongst our future generation, which will have a positive impact on the overall education sector."

Read more: Abu Dhabi school inspection results - 2016/17