KHDA school visits return this term, with 24 hours' notice at most
Dubai private schools will get no more than a day's warning before quality visits, which will look closely at early years, Emirati pupils, inclusion and Arabic.
DubaiDubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has set out how its quality assurance visits to private schools will work from the first term of the 2026-27 year. Schools will be told no more than 24 hours before a visit, and AI tools will help decide which kind of visit each school gets, based on its data and stage of development.
There are two kinds: a comprehensive visit, which ends with a full report and an overall rating, and a shorter follow-up visit on specific areas, which gives feedback but no new rating. Schools in their third year get a comprehensive visit, while schools in their first or second year get specialised visits on teaching and student experience.
Beyond the usual inspection framework, the visits will look at four areas: early childhood education, the progress of Emirati students, inclusive education for students of determination, and Arabic teaching. In the last inspection cycle, 81% of pupils were in schools rated Good or better, KHDA said.
