Questions

What is it like working at Aquila?

We often say that we do not take ourselves seriously, but we take what we do very seriously indeed. This means that working here is fun, but we expect all of our teaching staff to fully understand what matters in our school and be committed and able to provide amazing learning so that every child makes as much progress as possible. As we are committed to true personalisation, the learning in every class is different.

Primary:
Unlike other schools there is very little shared planning apart from in a handful of subjects – although of course colleagues can discuss ideas and ask each other for inspiration. This means you plan for all subjects for your own class from scratch- In primary we do not reuse planning from previous years or use schemes of work. 

Secondary:
As children get closer to exam courses in secondary, teachers do start to use more conventional methods to ensure full coverage of the curriculum. 

Our ‘no worksheets’ approach makes teachers really focus on preparing engaging activities and our commitment to pupil choice means teachers need to be skilled in helping children to select activities that are right for them. As a teacher this gives you - and in fact your class - lots of freedom to create a really meaningful curriculum that really is personalised and tailor made. However, this means you have to plan everything. If you are looking for a school where the lesson plans and schemes of work are handed to you off the shelf - or where you take it in turns to plan different subjects - then this would not be the right school for you. The Aquila School is not an easy option.

Will I get PPA?

Primary
Yes – but not in the same way as the UK – as teachers here have specialist lessons there will be times when your class are not with you for individual lessons – so there are small blocks of PPA time. Most teachers have approximately 80% teaching time.

Secondary
PPA is similar to the UK, and most teachers have approximately 80% teaching time.

Will I teach everything?

Primary
We teach the English National curriculum but adapted to be relevant to life in Dubai and teachers are empowered to teach their children ‘what they need to learn right now’. In Early Years and primary, specialist teachers teach music, PE, Arabic and Islamic. There is no religious education (apart from Islamic for Muslim children) but class teachers in primary do teach UAE social studies and moral education so you will need to work hard to find innovative ways to teach there two new subjects. 

Secondary
Secondary subjects are very similar to those in the UK – again with no religious education. Teachers typical teach their specialist subject, PSHE and Moral, Social and Cultural Education. Some teachers will teach 'enquiry', which is project based work for the pupils who do not attend Islamic classes.

Where will I live?

If you are a teacher on our sponsorship (i.e. you are a single person or are married and your spouse earns less than AED 21,500/-) you will be given the option of a one-bedroom apartment for up to two years or you can take the allowance, which is paid in equal monthly installments.

The apartments provided by the school are bright, western and simply furnished. Our current staff live a seven-minute walk from school. In their complex there is a pool and gym, several supermarkets are within a five-minute walk and there are cheap places to eat nearby. Five minutes by car there is Starbucks and Spinneys - a bit like Waitrose - if you are craving western comforts.

What are the children like?

We are a genuinely inclusive school and welcome children from all over the world. There are over seventy nationalities and over 90 per cent of children have English as an additional language. Naturally we are biased but we think our children are fab - and because lessons are engaging and relevant and we focus on ensuring children love coming to school behaviour is excellent – and our DSIB (Dubai focused) and BSO (British focused) inspectors agree. We expect to have approximately 1350 children on roll next year from FS1 to year 12.   

We are genuinely inclusive - and expect - through skillful teaching - at least 75% of children in your class to make better than expected progress and many to exceed age related expectations each year regardless of their starting points. Again, this is why a personalised, relevant and engaging curriculum really matters.

Are the families supportive?

Yes! In Dubai there are so many schools for families to choose from. Families pay for their children to come here and naturally they expect the very best for their children – and this is absolutely right. We are providing a service in a crowded marketplace and so do all we can to offer a five-star service.  Our school has a super community atmosphere. We can’t always give families what they want as we cannot be all things to all people, but we guarantee to reply to any email from a family within one working day and to be open and honest.

In Dubai there is a rigorous high-stakes inspection every year – not massively different to what Ofsted used to be like in the UK a few years ago, and they view our parent and community partnerships as a strength of the school.

Is the school a business?

Yes – like almost all schools in the area we are a business. That said, staff and inspectors agree that we are very well resourced and that the facilities are of a very high standard. Enrolments are crucial to the success of the business – most of our new children join us following recommendations from friends and families – so teachers providing amazing learning and ensuring children love coming to school is the best sort of marketing we can offer. We ask all teachers to attend at least one or two evening or weekend marketing events each year.

 What CPD is there?

We take the training and development of our staff seriously and every week there is training for all teachers and learning assistants – usually relating to key areas of our school improvement plan. We also have a performance development programme for all staff and a detailed induction plan to support individual development. There are not, in this part of the world, regular CPD opportunities beyond the school like in the UK. However, staff have access to online training from National college, TES, British Schools in the Middle East and a learning hub managed by the company who own the school – these all contain a wealth of short on-line training courses. Alongside our sister schools we regularly have live webinars for all staff from leading experts – recent examples include Paul Dix, Daniel Sobel  and The Lighthouse Arabia (which helps support staff wellbeing).  We do expect all of our staff to keep abreast of best practice and encourage staff to be innovative as well as using research based evidence to try different approaches.

When would I start?

We expect our new staff to arrive around 10th August 2024 and have a few days to settle into life in Dubai before starting work on the 12th August.  There would be a number of clearances needed - we would of course guide you through these.

Will there be opportunities for career development?

International Schools Partnership – the company that owns the school – has over eighty schools in 19 countries, and the online learning hub platform details global vacancies within the group. As a new and growing school (we started with 67 children) there will be opportunities for promotion within. When you start we want your focus to be on providing amazing learning to the children in your class.

Are there extra-curricular activities (ECAs)?

Yes.
In Primary, we all run at least one each week. As pupil choice is key to our work the activities are mostly decided by the children.
In Secondary, staff do one creativity/action activity and one academic session.

What are the hours?

Teaching staff official hours are 7.25 to 4.15 Monday to Thursday and 7.25 to 12.00pm on a Friday but we realise teachers usually work much more than this. For children the hours are 7.40 – 2.45 (an hour earlier for FS) in primary and 7.30 until 3.30 in secondary (ECAs nights finish at 4.15). Some people work long hours at school - others work more at home. This is a personal choice. We know that our staff do work hard - our approach to the curriculum and progress is demanding - but at the same time there are not many jobs that offer about 15 weeks paid holiday each year. There is a Seondary briefing on a Thursday at 7:05am.

Are the term dates the same as the UK?

Yes, we follow a three-term year like the UK with holidays in December and March/April.  We are usually able to have a few days off in October and February for half term (not always a whole week) and numerous public holidays throughout the year- although these are often only announced at the last minute. The end of term is usually the end of June or beginning of July.  Our academic calendar for the following year is usually approved by the local regulatory body by March.

What is the salary?

We have a salary scale based on years of experience post qualification. Salaries are not negotiable so it is fair and transparent - being tax free means that it will allow a good life here with the possibility of travel and saving too! For staff under our sponsorship there is also an annual flight allowance and private health insurance. When staff leave – subject to local labour law – they receive an end of service gratuity (of approx 21 days of their basic pay/year).

How long is the contract?

Employment contracts are for two years, however after the initial two-year contract, we do ask teaching staff their intentions annually, so that the school has been given enough notice should they choose to end their contracts. 

What matters at the Aquila School?

Three words – safe, happy, learning.

We are all very familiar with our school vision as it really does underpin what we believe in – please read it carefully and ask yourself – is a school with this vision something I can commit to and fully believe in?

A happy community school with amazing learning at its heart where pupils are empowered to make choices, engage in meaningful learning experiences and make exceptional progress.