Dubai British School Jumeirah Park (DBSJP) is a British International school based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The school caters for over 2116 students from ages 3 to 18, school years Foundation Stage 1 to Year 13 of which 268 (13%) students are on the Inclusion Register for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Whilst the school is private and fee-paying, it is an inclusive school that welcomes students of all nationalities and abilities.
In addition to the SEND students, the school has 76 different nationalities in the school making up 58% of the school population, with 2% being Early Language Learners (ELL).
The school has a transient community with a lot of families moving away after two years. Academic, wellbeing and safeguarding information is sought from the previous school and thorough wellbeing and academic assessments are carried out on arrival to match the pupil with the right class and teacher.
The school overcomes the challenges of aligning the curriculum to previous settings and the inability to ensure quality education has taken place, through their assessments and getting to know their pupils using a relational approach.
DBSJP offers a range of qualifications and pathways to ensure all learners are catered for at the right stage in their education. BTEC courses, GCSEs and entry-level qualifications are on offer, as well as an abundance of interventions to support wellbeing, emotional regulation and Special Educational Needs (SEN), which include Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Dyslexia. DBSJP supports children who may have additional needs by facilitating a Team Around the Child (TAC) meeting termly to coordinate the required support.
Individual Learning Support Assistants (ILSAs), who are employed directly by families, receive training in SEN and safeguarding to enable them to support the pupil they are assigned to and safeguard the other pupils in school. This also includes curriculum knowledge and scaffolding. DBSJP takes part in the recruitment of the ILSAs to ensure they have the right experience to be able to work in the school.
DBSJP accesses support from, and signposts parents to, Insights and Kids First for screening and assessments from the Speech and Language team, Educational Psychologist and Occupational Therapists. DBSJP welcomes the therapists into school to deliver the required interventions.
Wellbeing is a huge priority in the UAE. DBSJP offers a range of interventions to identify and address these needs, which include two school Counsellors, the Pupil Attitudes to Self and School (PASS) assessments, the Alert programme and the SCERTS assessment.
Staff wellbeing is also catered for in the form of regular staff check-ins, the wellbeing committee, Counsellors, mental health support for staff, staff newsletters, secret buddies, a wellbeing room and investment in the staffroom environment. Staff also have wellbeing options they can choose from and there is a no email policy from 6 pm to 6 am.
There is a strong inclusive ethos at DBSJP and the Deputy Headteacher for Secondary said, “every child has access to everything”. This includes trips, extra-curricular activities, classroom support, Counsellors, intervention and the use of the wealth of facilities the school offers.
The pupils in years 2, 3 and 4 who I spoke to said they “enjoyed school as it was fun”, they “enjoyed making new friends” and “learning on different devices”. One pupil described going on a trip to Hatta as “the best thing I have ever done”.
The pupils said that bullying is not tolerated and they would all feel comfortable with telling a teacher if they had a worry about themselves or a friend. The pupils stated there was a plethora of extracurricular activities for them to take part in, which included Gymnastics, Rugby, Football, Badminton, Swimming, Yoga, Lego and Art Clubs.
The students can choose whether they want to ‘Enjoy’ a club, ‘Aspire’ in something that they want to get better in or ‘Achieve’, where they may play in a league. There are also safe space activities, that pupils can choose whether they want to take part in, before school or during lunch time.
There is an abundance of awareness days that are celebrated including Earth Day, Autism Awareness, Sign Language Day, Peace Awareness and celebrating unity.
These days are symbolised by wearing different coloured ribbons. In addition, DBSJP celebrates its diverse community through International Day where 85 different nationalities come together to share their traditions and cultures through food, dance, clothes and celebration.
Parents play a huge part in DBSJP’s community and work alongside staff to ensure their children are progressing and happy. The school celebrates parent engagement including the feedback offered to questionnaires and surveys when they are reviewing practice. Feedback from parents indicates that the school staff works alongside them and said they felt ‘valued’ and ‘heard’. Parents also said that the staff is proactive in implementing strategies.
Staff said that “inclusive practice is how you meet the needs of the community”. I believe that Dubai British School Jumeirah Park is a shining example of how inclusive practice should be delivered. The approach is child-centred and parents, pupils and staff are happy.
The inclusive environment is infectious!
Pupils summarised their school using one word as ‘achieve’, ‘aspire’ and ‘kaizen’, meaning continuously improving.
