Al Maaref American School

Acceptable Al Safa, Dubai · American

KHDA rating: Acceptable
Meets minimum standards; may be on an improvement plan. Read the full report before enrolling. Ratings are from the last full inspection cycle (2023–24).
Annual fees: AED 28,000 to 52,000 a year
Varies by year group; confirm current fees with the school. 2026–27 fees are frozen by KHDA directive.
Curriculum: American
Established: Founded 2005
School transport: Bus service available
Location: Al Safa, Dubai
Open in Google Maps

District-level pin for Al Safa — use the Google Maps link for the exact gate.

We could not verify an official website for this school, so no link is shown.

Opens live directions in Google Maps — real traffic from your own address beats any published estimate. School-run traffic peaks roughly 7–8am; test your route at drop-off time.

In context

Its mid-range fee is in line with the median for American schools in this guide (AED 38,000). It is one of 27 schools in this guide currently rated Acceptable.

These comparisons are computed from the verified data in this register, not editorial opinion.

What the inspectors said

Paraphrased from the last full DSIB inspection (2023–24 cycle) and its published record — read the complete report on the official KHDA directory.

Strengths the inspectors named:

Acceptable maintained in 2023–24, with notable strengths in students’ personal and social development and their understanding of Islamic values and Emirati culture.
Advanced Placement courses offered in the High School, and a curriculum that meets statutory requirements.

What they asked the school to improve:

Achievement is consistently Acceptable across all core subjects and phases, with learning skills varying — the plain reason for the overall rating.
The curriculum focuses more on knowledge acquisition than skill development, and adaptations do not always cater to higher and lower attainers — so ask specifically how a child at either end of the range is stretched or supported.

Inclusion (students of determination): Inspectors record inclusive admission procedures and improving support for students of determination, in a school with only a small cohort identified with additional learning needs at the 2024 inspection — a small cohort is itself worth asking about, because it can mean low need or low identification. Curriculum adaptations are noted as not always catering to higher and lower attainers, leadership roles lack clarity and self-evaluation is overly optimistic, which together constrain improvement planning. Safeguarding and child protection are comprehensive, and personal and social development is a genuine strength. Context a family should hold: enrolment of Emirati students has fallen from over 400 in 2020 to around 160, which follows the regulator’s guidance to Emirati families to move to schools rated Good or better — the mechanism our key-findings page explains. See the special educational needs guide for the questions to ask on a visit.

Inspector summaries are being added school by school as each report is read — 169 of 169 so far, dated per cycle, never invented. A school without a summary yet is unread, not unjudged.

Visit kit

Questions worth asking on a tour — tuned to this school’s rating and curriculum:

What did the last KHDA report ask you to improve, and what has changed since?
Who leads inclusion here — and may we meet them before enrolling?
How much staff turnover did you have last year, and why?
What are actual class sizes this term — not the maximum?
How and how often will I hear about my child’s progress?

Special educational needs? Read the inclusion guide before you visit.

Other schools in Al Safa

The School of Research Science — Good, AED 34,000 to 62,000 a year
Horizon English School — Outstanding, AED 43,849 to 58,825 a year
Al Ittihad Private School Al Safa — Good, Fees not listed — confirm with the school

Work at this school? Correct or update this record — verified corrections are made promptly and logged publicly.

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