KHDA to inspect Dubai schools with no more than 24 hours’ notice

Dubai: Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has announced that private schools across the emirate will receive short-notice inspection visits from the 2026-27 academic year, with schools given no more than 24 hours' notice before a quality assurance team arrives.

The announcement introduces two distinct types of quality assurance visits under a renewed, differentiated approach: a full inspection conducted by a team of specialist experts, and a shorter monitoring visit by a smaller team focusing on specific audit trails and key lines of enquiry.

The move marks a return to formal quality assurance activity after KHDA announced last year that no inspections would be conducted for Dubai private schools during the 2025-26 academic year, a pause the authority described at the time as an opportunity for "greater collaboration and reflection on how we define and support quality in education."

KHDA said the resumption of visits is aimed at supporting continuous school improvement, enhancing student outcomes and wellbeing, and strengthening parents' confidence in the quality of education in Dubai.

The quality assurance visits support Dubai's Education 33 (E33) Strategy, which places learners at the centre of the education system and seeks to ensure high-quality education for all students, particularly Emirati learners. They also contribute to the ambitions of the Dubai Plan 2033, the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), and the Dubai Social Agenda to make Dubai one of the world's top 10 cities for education quality.

Two types of visits

Under the renewed approach, every eligible private school in Dubai will receive one of two types of quality assurance visits.

The first is a full quality assurance visit, or inspection, conducted by a team of specialist experts applying the full UAE School Inspection Framework. A comprehensive inspection report, including an overall school rating, will be published after the visit. Schools in Dubai that complete their third year of operation will automatically receive this type of visit as part of their first full inspection.

The second is a shorter monitoring visit conducted by a smaller team of visiting experts, focusing on specific audit trails and key lines of enquiry identified through data analysis. Following the visit, schools will receive a concise report outlining strengths and recommendations for improvement, but no new overall inspection rating will be issued.

Why short notice?

For both types of visits, schools will receive no more than 24 hours' notice.

KHDA said this approach helps ensure that visits reflect the everyday reality of school life, providing a more authentic picture of teaching, learning, student wellbeing, and day-to-day operations.

Short-notice visits also make feedback more meaningful and useful for schools by ensuring recommendations are grounded in authentic evidence rather than in a period of intensive preparation. The approach aligns with international best practices adopted by leading quality assurance bodies worldwide.

What has happened so far?

Over the past two years, KHDA and schools continued to collaborate, reflect, and strengthen the foundations of educational quality in Dubai. KHDA provided schools with greater flexibility to strengthen their improvement processes and build on the findings of annual school inspections conducted since the 2007–08 academic year. The approach was informed by extensive engagement with school leaders and by feedback gathered through dedicated listening sessions and consultations.

During that period, KHDA continued to monitor educational quality through a range of mechanisms, including quality assurance visits to new schools and to schools that had completed three years of operation in Dubai, reviews of Self-Evaluation Forms (SEFs), data analysis, ongoing engagement with schools, and analysis of internal and external assessment results. KHDA also launched a school improvement programme under the Excel Anywhere E33 game changer to provide targeted support to schools with high numbers of Emirati learners.

What’s next?

During the 2026–27 academic year, quality assurance activities will focus on evaluating the impact of schools' improvement efforts over the past two years and on providing targeted support to help schools continue to grow and improve, particularly in light of recent regional developments.

Fatma Belrehif, CEO of the Education Quality Assurance and Compliance Agency, said: "As we reintroduce quality assurance visits in the 2026–27 academic year, we remain committed to working in partnership with schools and the wider community to ensure every child benefits from a world-class education. The renewed approach strengthens parents' confidence in the quality of educational choices available and supports the ambitions of our Education 33 Strategy.

"The differentiated approach recognises that schools are at different stages of their improvement journey. It allows us to focus more closely on the areas that matter most for students, while ensuring feedback is grounded in the day-to-day reality of school life. This makes the process more meaningful, more relevant, and ultimately more effective in supporting continuous improvement."

The quality assurance visits will continue to be guided by the 2015-2016 UAE School Inspection Framework, ensuring consistency, clarity, and familiarity among school leaders and educators.

KHDA said it will use a moderated, data-driven methodology to determine the most appropriate type of visit for each school, combining KHDA-held data with information from schools' profiles, submissions, achievement data, and self-evaluation processes. The analysis is reviewed by education specialists and subject to structured moderation to ensure decisions are objective, consistent, and based on the most current available information.