NAS Dubai champions an ambitious education believing that there are no limits to what our students can achieve for ourselves and for others.
NAS Dubai has high academic aspirations and believes that all students, including students of determination, are entitled to an outstanding education that enables them to:
- Be successful individuals who are able to achieve their full academic potential;
- Develop their personal, emotional and social skills allowing them to make a successful transition into adulthood as well-rounded individuals;
- Be resilient, open-minded and reflective learners;
- Be ambitious.
All staff are dedicated to developing a differentiated and personalised curriculum that caters for the diverse needs of our students, including students of determination. Provision is made available to students throughout, or at any time, during their school career. We have a comprehensive Pastoral and Inclusion Team comprising of experienced and specialist staff.
The Inclusion Team aims to support the school as a whole and aims to meet the individual needs of every student by working closely with individual departments and teachers as well as liaising with parents and external professionals when required.
We support the principle of ‘Inclusive’ education. We also support the principles of Article 4 (20) of the Executive Council Resolution No.2 of 2017 and Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework (2017).
Full details of how we serve the needs of students of determination are set out in the school’s Inclusion Policy. The school’s other policies that include aspects of pastoral care are also followed and integrated into our approach to inclusion at all times. The information below provides a summary of our Inclusion Policy and sets out the measures taken to implement it.
The types of SEND that are provided for:
Students may have needs and requirements which fall into at least one of the following four areas (although some students may have inter-related needs, and the impairment, difficulties or disability may be permanent or temporary):
•Physical and sensory impairment, including medical conditions;
•Cognition and learning;
•Communication and interaction;
•Social, emotional and mental health difficulties.
What we do to help students of determination:
•The school will make provision to ensure that students of determination have access to all areas of the curriculum and to this end, teachers will make full use of classroom and school resources;
•Specific resources available are: staff mentors assigned to students to help support their difficulties; 1:1 LSAs, the peer mentoring scheme; intervention sessions and revision classes; specialised resource materials e.g. use of laptops; specialised examination materials and arrangements e.g. modified test papers, examination scribes, extra time allocation or one to one invigilation in a separate room; access to outside agencies and specialists; disabled toilet facilities and ramp access.
•The curriculum will be differentiated to meet the needs of individual students, and where necessary, personalised;
How we monitor that a student is making progress and how we keep parents informed:
•Regular testing, assessment and monitoring of all students, including students of determination, occurs in all subjects and year groups;
•The briefing at the start of each academic year provides curriculum information and guidance to parents to help them support their children’s learning;
•All students, including students of determination, are consulted and involved in the review of their educational progress. SEND provision makes use of the bespoke tutoring and target setting system; all students see their class teachers or personal tutors on a regular basis to evaluate work and monitor progress;
•If, as a result, it is apparent that a student needs extra support, their teachers and the Inclusion Team will be made aware of their areas of strength and concerns, and will decide, in collaboration with parents, as to the appropriate support that should be given;
•Parents are kept fully informed of their child’s educational progress via half-termly communications, including the Inclusion Bulletin which is disseminated to all staff, students and parents and a wider community via website;
•Parents are welcome to attend a weekly coffee morning or to contact the school at any time, if they have concerns about the progress of their child;
What we do to enable students of determination to fully participate in School life:
•Students of determination are regarded as full members of the school community, and staff are committed to identifying and providing for the needs of all students in a wholly inclusive environment;
•The school actively helps students of determination, including those with a medical condition, to participate in extra-curricular activities, sporting activities, trips and visits. This includes considering what reasonable adjustments can be made to enable such students to participate.
The training that is given to our staff:
•Safeguarding and Child Protection, as well as some aspects of medical care is delivered to all staff;
•Every member of teaching staff must be aware of the school’s Inclusion Policy
•Teachers are given full details of all students of determination at the start of each academic year and regularly throughout the year. Any changes to the school’s Inclusion Policy are published throughout the year;
•The school’s SEND procedures are part of the induction programme for new teaching staff.
Specialist external services we use when we consider it is needed include:
· Educational Psychologists for assessment and intervention;
· Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services;
· Counselling partnerships to support the wellbeing of students
· Occupational Therapists (OTs)
· Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs)
· ABA Therapists
· Physiotherapists
How we evaluate the success of our SEND Policy:
•The effectiveness of the SEND Policy is monitored by the Heads of Inclusion, the SLT and the School Governor responsible for SEND.
