The Department of Education and Knowledge is committed to continuously enhancing the quality of early education offered to newborns and children up to 4 years of age in all the nurseries in Abu Dhabi. In light of this and in order to ensure that children have access to high-quality education in a safe and healthy environment, the Department carries out regular inspection visits to nurseries in Abu Dhabi to verify that they adhere to the set criteria and standards of quality.
In accordance with the laws governing nurseries in Abu Dhabi, inspectors from the Department of Education and Knowledge evaluate the performance of nurseries against specific guidelines and regulations mentioned below.
Academic Performance: a field visit to the nursery building and classrooms will be conducted to monitor and evaluate the below 7 areas:
- Space and Furnishings.
- Learning Activities.
- Personal Care Routines.
- Classroom Organization.
- Language and Literacy.
- Emotional Support.
- Instructional Support.
Health and Safety: inspection visits to nursery are conducted to ensure compliance with Child Safety, Services and Care and Organization and management standards.
Licensing: inspection visits to nursery are conducted to ensure compliance with the standards identified in Services, Care, Organization, management, Building and Resources.
Inspection and Evaluation
ADEK’s Inspection Model consists of two elements: inspection and support. While these elements have specific objectives, they both aim to achieve higher quality in education and care in nurseries.
Inspection: it refers to any activity that occurs before or after the inspection visit. It aims to guide the nursery on how to prepare for the inspection visit and to make the necessary improvement in terms of education and care system in the nursery.
Inspection visit: an official visit by one or more inspectors from the Department of Education and Knowledge Department to the nursery to inspect the followed health, safety, and academic procedures and licences. The aim of the visit is to ensure quality and to measure compliance with the required standards.
There are three stages in the inspection process: before inspection, during inspection, and after inspection. Each stage has clear objectives and a specific procedure as outlined below:
- Stage 1: Pre-evaluation.
- Stage 2: Inspection.
- Stage 3: Follow up after the inspection.
The below figure illustrates the inspection and evaluation process for nurseries in Abu Dhabi.
Providing support to nurseries
After the completion of nursery inspection, the Department of Education and Knowledge provides nurseries in Abu Dhabi with specialized programs that support them in improving the quality of education and care services provided to children. Whereby the Department offers guidance to nurseries on how to carry out certain improvements that would guarantee their compliance with the set standards of quality.
Moreover, The Department of Education and Knowledge guides the nurseries in Abu Dhabi through a system of self-assessment; where nurseries will be able to identify areas of improvement on a regular basis and take necessary action to ensure high quality of education and care without the need for external assessment carried out by a third party.