GEMS Royal Dubai School

If you have a young family to educate and live in the Mirdiff area of Dubai, you are very fortunate for more than geographic reasons. Opened in September 2005, GEMS Royal Dubai School offers an exceptional quality of education from Foundation Stage to Year 6. We are the only Outstanding Primary School in the Mirdif area that offers the National Curriculum for England, taught by British trained and experienced teachers who have been chosen for their ability to develop High Performance Learners, who are happy, inquisitive, successful and equipped to confidently apply their learning skills to an ever-changing world. This has led to RDS being recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) and certified as a COBIS member (Council of British International Schools).

Throughout RDS a warm and friendly ‘family first’ atmosphere pervades. Self-confidence and self-esteem thrive in an environment that is encouraging, academically challenging and rewarding. We teach the skills and knowledge through the New National Curriculum for England using our Learning Wave (Wonder, Discover, Apply) and concept curriculum to encourage creative and critical thinking alongside stimulating and meaningful experiences, leading to awe and wonder. Individuals are important to us and we aim to give all of our children positive encouragement during their school life to help them develop into accomplished, happy, self-confident, well-mannered young people who have respect for others.

We strongly value links with parents at GEMS Royal Dubai School and work hard to develop effective home-school partnerships.  This was evidenced in December 2020 when we were proud to receive the Optimus Leading Parent Partnership Award and Optimus Wellbeing Award for Schools, cementing our family first philosophy that is part of the RDS difference.

Our community school provides regular communication to parents and times for us to meet and listen to each other as well as an exciting mix of performances, exhibitions, competitions and sporting events. What is most important in our school is a warm Family First atmosphere where the children feel safe, secure and happy.

RDS is one of only four schools in the UAE who hold the title of World Class School within the High Performance Learning ethos of learning.  We give individual attention to each student to ensure academic excellence for all,  broadening and extending their learning as we believe no child’s education should be limited.   We can identify particular talent through our gifted and talented programme and support specific learning barriers through our Achievement Centre ensuring every child who leaves GEMS Royal Dubai School has achieved their full potential and is ready for the next step on to Secondary education.

At GEMS Royal Dubai School we are committed to providing all our pupils a guaranteed Year 7 place in a GEMS secondary school through The Royal Promise. We support you and your child in making the right secondary school choice with one of our partnership schools; GEMS FirstPoint (FPS), Wellington International School (WIS), Wellington Al Khail (WEK) and Wellington Silicon Oasis (WSO).

Choosing  the right secondary school for your child after their time at RDS is one of the most important decisions that you make as a family and our Year 6 Head of Year and Parent Relations Executive are on hand to support you through the process.

GEMS Royal Dubai School focus on an holistic education that extends beyond the classroom to embrace a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including sports, nature trips, arts and crafts and exploratory excursions and overnight trips that provide a well-rounded experience and development of student potential. We also continue to support and participate in several philanthropic initiatives in our local and wider community; from student involvement for the wellbeing of our beautiful planet to books that are distributed to children in Nairobi through Old Books for New Eyes and the 100million Meals campaign RDS are truly fortunate to have such a caring and kindhearted community.

Our teachers are specialists in their fields and encourage our children to participate, create and contribute. GEMS education has over 60+ years of success proven experience, bringing a unique brand of quality education to communities around the world.  Our core education values of One Team – Always Learning – Care  – Excellence are combined with an innovative, relevant approach to education. Strong pastoral care, high quality teachers and a great emphasis on extra-curricular activities make this a very special Dubai School in which to grow and learn.

The enriched version of National Curriculum for England places emphasis on the core subjects and carefully monitors progress and attainment ensures a record of academic success. This is complimented by outstanding facilities and provision in the foundation subjects which include the Creative Arts, P.E, Humanities, Social Studies, Moral Education, Computing and use of technology through BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to enhance learning proving we continue to move with the times, embracing new approaches to learning and technology, preparing our students well for the inescapable challenges of change that the 21^st century will bring.

Our school strives for excellence in everything we do.  Your child’s academic needs are our top priority.  However, at our primary school we also encourage our students to develop their strengths outside as well as inside the classroom through an extensive range of extra-curricular activities (ECAs).  A focus on students personal development promotes positive attitudes to learning.

We offer an Islamic Academy to our students, up to 4 days a week in order to extend their skills in Quran recitation and memorization alongside with a reinforcement of the curriculum.

We ensure via a pedagogy coach, that our teachers are up to date with the latest innovation in teaching and learning and in line with the 2021 vision by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

We are laying the important foundations for successful language learning and we believe that teaching a foreign language makes a positive contribution to the Primary Curriculum. Children at RDS experience Arabic language from the Foundation Stage with formal lessons beginning in Year 1 with Arabic A (first language speakers) and Arabic B (second language speakers) lessons.  In all classes there are children with different language abilities, we recognize this fact and provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child.  Our goal is to foster an interest and enthusiasm for learning an additional language in a stimulating, enjoyable, fun learning environment where children actively take part.  From Year 3 we introduce the French language to our students to further advance this love of languages.  Our specialist teacher decides what level of input is appropriate and differentiate accordingly as learning a foreign language should be fun for all children.   Our fluent French speaking children act as helpers and are given extended tasks and more open-ended questions whilst students who have had no exposure to French may attend catch up sessions held outside the normal lesson time as part of our ECA provision. Learning a language opens up avenues of communication and exploration and promotes, encourages and instills a broader cultural understanding.

The study of a modern foreign language is increasingly important in a global economy and also has great value in terms of cultural and linguistic richness in our society, personal fulfilment, global citizenship and understanding. Through the study of a foreign language, pupils understand and appreciate different countries, cultures, people and communities and as they do so, begin to think of themselves of citizens of the world.

Our languages department are confident with the full range of learning styles and ensure the learning is very active with a range of enjoyable activities such as the use of puppets, song, poems, rhymes, learning games, dance, listening, speaking, writing and reading activities and the integration of digital learning.

Summary of KHDA Inspection

GEMS Royal Dubai School was inspected by DSIB annually. The overall quality of education provided by the school has been judged as outstanding since 2015.

In order to judge the overall quality of education provided by the school, inspectors considered six key standards of performance. Inspectors looked at children’s attainment and progress in key subjects, their learning skills and their personal and social development. They judged how effective teaching and the assessment of learning were across the school. Inspectors considered how well the school’s curriculum, including activities inside and outside classrooms, met the educational needs of all children. They judged how well the school protected and supported children. In addition inspectors judged the effectiveness of leadership and governance, including management, staffing, facilities and resources. The inspection judgements were drawn from evidence gathered by the inspection team, including observing children learning in lessons, looking at their work, talking with children, meetings with the staff, parents and governors, and reviewing the parents’, teachers’ and senior students’ surveys.

Overall, GEMS Royal Dubai School provided an outstanding education for its students.

• Children in Foundation Stage and students in the primary made outstanding progress in acquiring knowledge, understanding and skills in English, mathematics and science. Progress in Islamic education and Arabic was good.
• Children at Foundation Stage had outstanding attainment in mathematics and science, and good attainment in English. Attainment in the primary phase ranged from acceptable in Arabic as a first language, to very good in science. Across both phases, learning skills were outstanding.
• Students’ personal development was excellent. They had very positive attitudes towards learning and to others. They were able to take responsibility for their own learning in a range of school, community or environmental projects. Their understanding of Emirati culture was exemplary. Knowledge and understanding of wider cultures, though positive, was less so.
• Teaching at the Foundation Stage encouraged children to capitalise on their curiosity and explore the world around them. The children benefited from an excellent range of motivating activities set up by teachers, who observed and recorded their progress in an outstanding way. Lessons in the primary stage were often of very good or outstanding quality, encouraging students to think for themselves. However, there was a degree of inconsistency across subjects in this regard. Assessment was done very well internally, but did not yet include regular external tests.
• The curriculum was of outstanding quality. It promoted progression and continuity in learning and ensured that tasks and activities were well matched to the learning needs of different groups of students. Care and support for all students were of the highest quality, and students with special educational needs and disabilities benefited from targeted and customised support in their learning and personal development. Arrangements for health and safety, including child protection, were excellent.
• The quality of leadership from the principal, senior team, and others was of the highest quality. Teamwork was a notable feature of the school. Stakeholders were committed to school self-evaluation and taking the school forward. Governors supported the school and that there was no letting up on the drive for improvement. They ensured that the school was appropriate resourced. Partnership with parents was highly developed.

School’s strengths

• Students were making rapid progress in acquiring knowledge and understanding in English, mathematics and science. They had exceptionally strong learning skills.
• Students’ attainment had improved in Arabic as an additional language and in Islamic education.
• Students’ personal and social development was excellent. They could take responsibility in a wide range of activities in and out of the classroom.
• Staff had created a very well planned and stimulating curriculum which, which along with teaching, was often inspiring. Rigorous assessment, was highly effective in promoting learning for all groups of students.
• All staff ensured that students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), were well protected and very well supported in their learning and personal development. There was an exceptional collegiate ethos among staff, parents and students.
• Governors and the principal promoted teamwork very successfully. They, and staff at all levels, showed high quality leadership in driving the school forward.