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DSIB - ASK A QUESTION

Below is a list of questions that you may have about the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau.

 What is the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau?

Why was the Bureau created?

When did the Bureau come into operation?

How are inspections carried out?

How is the Bureau inspecting the diverse range of schools in Dubai?

How does the Bureau work with schools?

How does the Bureau work with the Schools Agency?

How does the Bureau work with other KHDA agencies?

How does the Bureau work with the Ministry of Education?

How does the Bureau work with parents?

What is a Quality Indicator?

What is inspected?

Who are the inspectors?

What happens after an inspection?
If you have a question about the Bureau that is not answered here, please contact us at inspections@khda.gov.ae and we will get back to you.

What is the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau?

The Dubai Schools Inspections Bureau operates within the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and was developed to define and measure education quality in order to support the improvement of education in Dubai.
The Bureau provides:
An inspection service that produces independent, comprehensive assessment of educational standards and school performance for every school in Dubai, both public and private;
KHDA, the Government of Dubai and the public with an accurate and detailed view of the quality of school education in Dubai in relation to the educationally best performing countries in the world.
Why was the Bureau created?
One of the key aims of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 is to improve the achievement of students and ensure all nationals have access to quality education. The KHDA has at its core the ambition to make this a reality and aims to establish a global reputation for Dubai’s education system that supports its long-term position as a world hub for investment and economic development.
At the time of the establishment of the Bureau there was no one view of the standard and quality of education provided throughout Dubai.
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau provides comprehensive information on the standard of education in Dubai, which helps inform improvement planning at school and policy level.
When did the Bureau come into operation?

The Bureau was established in 2008 and we are currently in our second year of school inspections.

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How are inspections carried out?
All schools received an initial quality inspection during the 2008 to 2009 academic year. This was followed by a second inspection in 2009 to 2010.  DSIB consulted with a broad range of stakeholders from the education community to ensure that the inspections reflected the diverse community in Dubai. The inspectorate gives schools four working weeks notice of an inspection. This is to allow sufficient time for schools to provide the standard factual information inspectors need, including any self-evaluative information about how the school believes it is performing; and to organise basic facilities such as office space for the inspectors.
Depending on the size of the school teams of between two and five inspectors visit schools for between three and five days. The time inspectors spend in school depends on the size of the school.
Our Handbook for the Inspection of Schools details the inspection process and the methods that inspectors use to go about their work. It is available online and in printed format for anyone interested in the inspection process.
How is the Bureau inspecting the diverse range of schools in Dubai?
There is a diverse range of schools operating in Dubai both government and non-government sectors, with many different curricula being studied. This makes Dubai’s education environment unique.
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau is inspecting whole schools on how effective they are as educational organisations, not individual teachers, principals or students, against defined universal standards that are evident in high-performing schools regardless of the curriculum studied or geographical location.
These include, for example, methods of teaching practice, management and leadership styles and the use and sharing of school data.
Because of the unique nature of education in Dubai we have been consulting with the education community on exactly what these standards look like in Dubai and what indicators they can be measured by.
The outcomes of schools – the results of student testing on whichever curriculum they may be studying – are taken into account during the inspection process, as well as the results of international benchmarking tests that may be undertaken such as Trends in Mathematical and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
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How does the Bureau work with schools?

DSIB is inspecting every school in Dubai, both government and non-government. Design of the inspection procedures has been carried out in collaboration with schools and DSIB works with principals and the wider school community, as well as taking into account global best practice, to ensure that the inspections meet the needs of Dubai’s broad range of education providers.

DSIB inspect schools that have been accredited by external accreditation organisations, but we are particularly keen to work with accredited schools and accreditation organisations to ensure there is as little duplication of effort on the part of schools as possible.

Accreditation organisations seek to assist individual schools, through voluntary assessment and peer evaluation, to support the process of self-regulation, which will promote continuous self-evaluation and institutional improvement.

Accreditation already provides a framework for some schools in Dubai to strive towards educational excellence. Evidence gathered from this process is utilised in the inspection process.

How does the Bureau work with the Schools Agency?
The Schools Agency, also within KHDA, is responsible for the development and management of school-based education in Dubai. The Bureau works very closely with colleagues in the Schools Agency in developing a joined-up approach to improving education in Dubai.
Through the inspection process areas of strength and weakness will be identified in each school. These strengths and weaknesses will be shared with the Schools Agency and where appropriate, interventions will be made to help schools improve or share their successful practice with others.
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How does the Bureau work with other KHDA agencies?
The Bureau is working closely with all other agencies within KHDA, such as the Higher Education Agency, to ensure that there are strategic links between all agencies working on education development at an Emirate and Federal level resulting in an holistic approach to education improvement.
How does the Bureau work with the Ministry of Education?
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau is an organisation within KHDA. KHDA has been mandated (law 30/2006) as responsible for the development and improvement of education in Dubai. This includes licensing of educational establishments, supervising these establishments, measuring and monitoring standards of education within these establishments and improvement planning and implementation.
The Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau works with colleagues within KHDA and directly with the Ministry of Education to ensure that the Bureau meets the needs of the Ministry of Education to develop federal-level education policies, as well as the local needs of the education community in Dubai.
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How does the Bureau work with parents?
The Bureau is now publishing information on standards of education in every school in Dubai. This information will allow parents to make like for like comparisons between the education provisions available and enable them to make informed choices.
We will be consulting with parents, as key members of the school community, to ensure that published information meets their needs as consumers of education services in Dubai.
What is a Quality Indicator?
Quality Indicators are the criteria against which inspectors make judgements about the quality of the education schools provide.
We have consulted widely with principals and other key stakeholders in Dubai about what the Quality Indicators should be. The agreed Quality Indicators have been published so that all stakeholders know how inspectors make their judgements.
Quality Indicators should not be confused with standards. Standards describe the performance level achieved by students.
What is inspected?
Inspectors will find answers in each school to a number of essential questions, which are based on the outcomes of research into effective schooling across the world:
  • How good are the students’ attainment and progress in key subjects?
  • How good is the students’ personal and social development?
  • How good are the teaching and learning?
  • How well does the curriculum meet the educational needs of all the students?
  • How well does the school protect and support its students?
  • How good are the leadership and management of the school?
  • How well does the school perform overall?

Using the answers to these questions, inspectors then set out recommendations for what each school needs to do to improve further.

Who are the inspectors?
They have been recruited from across the region and from around the world with the knowledge, skills and expertise to make sound judgements about educational quality in Dubai.
We have recruited inspectors with a working knowledge of every curriculum relevant to Dubai and those who are bi-lingual in Arabic, English and other languages where relevant.

What happens after an inspection?
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Following a school inspection the inspectors provide a full written report that contains details of areas where the school is performing well and recommendations for further development.
Each school is then expected to prepare an action plan indicating how it will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents. The next inspection will report on the progress made by the school.
Where inspectors identify important weaknesses, the school is required to prepare an action plan to remedy them, and to share that plan with parents. Inspectors will then monitor the success of the action plan in securing the needed improvement.
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