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Visiting a school: what to ask, and what to look at
Everything else on this site gets you to a shortlist. Then you walk through a door and a very good salesperson takes over. This page is the questions worth asking, drawn from what inspectors and KHDA’s own rules say across more than 200 schools - on one page, so you can carry it.
How to use it. You will not ask all of these and you should not try. Pick the six that match your child. Write the answers down in front of them - not to be difficult, but because a question you are visibly recording gets a more careful answer than one you nod at. If a question cannot be answered on the spot, that is a fair answer; ask when it will be, and by whom.
Before you go
- Book a normal school day, not an open day. Open days are staged and every school stages them well. A Tuesday in term time shows you the school.
- Go at drop-off if you can. You will see the traffic, the gate, the staff on duty and how children arrive - which tells you more than the tour will.
- Read the school’s page here first and bring the one or two findings that concern you. A specific question about a published finding lands very differently from a general one.
The money questions
- May I see the KHDA-approved Fees Fact Sheet? Published tuition is capped at that figure. Ask for the Fact Sheet, not the marketing sheet.
- What is charged on top of tuition? Registration, books, uniform, trips, exam entry, technology, activities, and transport. Ask for the total for the year group your child enters, not the headline.
- Is this fee introductory, and when does it revert? This register documents schools where a founding or discounted rate applied for a fixed period and then reverted.
- What discounts exist? Sibling, corporate partnership and early re-enrolment discounts are common and are almost never volunteered.
- What are the transport zones and the cost for my address? Confirm your address is inside a served zone - and note transport is usually charged in full per term regardless of the number of working days.
If your child needs support - the questions that separate schools
- Which of the four statutory inclusion roles are filled, and by whom? Names and qualifications, not a department.
- Would my child’s name sit on the SEND register, or simply be known to the teacher? Identification and registration are different acts, and only the second one triggers resources, planning and monitoring.
- How does an individual education plan appear inside a subject teacher’s lesson plan? Ask for an example. This is the single most revealing question on this page, because the most common finding across this whole register is that identification works and classroom delivery does not.
- Is support delivered in the classroom, or by taking my child out of it? Both are legitimate. The answer tells you what your child’s day looks like.
- What level of need would my child be assessed at, and what does that level cost? Several schools here fund lower tiers within tuition and charge for one-to-one support. Get the figure before you accept a place, not after.
- Are therapists on site, or referred out? On-site provision can be the difference between a normal week and two afternoons of driving.
- What accredited route exists if the standard academic path does not suit? BTEC, the IB Career-related Programme and ASDAN all appear in this register. A school with no answer is telling you something.
- Do you require a diagnosis to apply? Some schools here explicitly do not. If you are waiting on an assessment, this question decides whether you can apply now.
The teaching questions
- May I see a normal lesson, in the year group my child would join? Not the showcase class.
- What is teacher turnover, and who left last year? A stable staff room is worth more than a new building.
- How many counsellors are there, for how many students? This register documents schools with eleven and schools with one for over a thousand.
- Which phase is weakest, and what is being done about it? Ratings are averages. A school can be strong at secondary and ordinary at primary - ask about the phase your child enters.
- What does the improvement plan fund this year, and whose name is against it? A school that cannot answer this does not have one that is working.
What to look at while nobody is talking
- Where does support actually happen? A named room in use is different from a room that exists.
- Are the specialist spaces being used, or just tidy? Libraries, labs and music rooms in mid-lesson silence tell their own story.
- How do adults speak to children who are not being shown off? Watch the corridor, not the classroom.
- How do children treat a child who needs help? Inspectors record this and so should you.
- Do students look at the visitors? A school where a tour is unremarkable is a school that gets visitors often and has stopped performing for them.
Before you leave
- What is the waiting list position, honestly, and what moves it? Sibling and staff priority are normal; knowing they exist changes your planning.
- What is the notice period, and what is payable if we leave? Ask before you enrol. Our fees and refunds page sets out what KHDA’s rules actually say.
- Who do I contact when something goes wrong, and who is above them? Establish the escalation route while everyone is being pleasant.
One thing worth saying plainly. A school that answers awkward questions openly is showing you something more useful than a good answer. Watch how the questions are received as closely as how they are answered. You are going to be dealing with these people for years.
Back to the register · Check the distance between two schools · Your rights on inclusion
Common questions
What should I ask on a Dubai school tour?
Ask for the KHDA-approved Fees Fact Sheet rather than a marketing sheet, which of the four statutory inclusion roles are filled and by whom, whether support is delivered inside the classroom or by withdrawal, what a full-time one-to-one assistant costs and who employs them, and how an individual education plan appears inside a subject teacher's lesson plan.
What should I look at rather than be shown on a school tour?
Ask to see a normal lesson in progress rather than a showcase one, look at where support happens, check whether the library and specialist rooms are in use or merely tidy, and visit at drop-off time rather than mid-morning so you see the school under load.
What questions should I ask if my child needs learning support?
Ask how many students of determination are on roll, whether your child's name would sit on the SEND register rather than simply be known to a teacher, what level of need your child would be assessed at and what that level costs, whether therapists are on site or referred out, and what accredited alternative pathways exist if the standard academic route does not suit.
The whole journey, in order
Most guides start at FS1 and stop at Year 13. A family with more than one child is never at only one stage, so every stage links to every other.
- Applying
Tell me when this changes
Inspection results, fee changes, schools opening and closing - emailed when they happen, which is rarely. No marketing, no lists sold, unsubscribe in one click.