Our experts consider many factors vital in defining an outstanding nursery. First, and most important, is the health, safety and wellbeing of the children. Without this, nothing else is meaningful. We consider staff to child ratios, health, hygiene, emergency evacuation protocols and health care (including first aid training). We take a detailed look at how effective security measures are.

Once this firm foundation is established, we look for the hallmarks of excellence in Early Years education: a focus on child-initiated learning through play and positive relationships between staff and children.

For learning through play to be truly effective, children must be surrounded by highly skilled professionals and here our focus is on staff qualifications and continuous professional development.

Finally, we observe staff and child relationships, looking for natural warmth, empathy and how well staff know each child as an individual.

The physical environment of a nursery is not only important for health and safety, but as many Early Years experts agree, ‘the classroom is the third teacher.’ We look for superb facilities, high quality toys, books and resources and a good balance between indoor and outdoor space.

Operating mostly in developing countries across Asia and Africa, AKES chose to open a nursery in Dubai to be a training hub and centre of excellence in the region. Staff from the Dubai centre travel to developing countries to share their skills and expertise.
Our team were wowed by the architecture as soon as we entered the school on our latest visit.

Traditional Arabic design features, such as domed roof tops, archways and beautiful windows, can be found throughout. Corridors are light and wide (large enough to be used for small group activities), windows are large (with thoughtfully lowered window sills so that children can always see out) and classrooms incredibly spacious.

Mums also appreciated that the nursery provided a healthy, balanced menu, which their children enjoyed. Food is included in the regular fees.

We also met Nadia, a parent volunteer (and one of around 20 community volunteers, all of whom are vetted and given training before working with the children), who run the centre’s library. The AKELC library is a well-stocked lending library, with children of all ages encouraged to borrow library books each week. All children, even the very youngest, visit the library for around 30 minutes per day.
Teachers use an “emergent’ style of planning – topics are chosen based upon the interests of the children and are followed for as long as the children are engaged and learning.

The centre operates a ‘100%’ inclusive admissions policy and is adapted for wheelchair access.

Impressively, Fazilat was the National Day Nurseries Association – Runner Up – Practitioner of the Year in 2017, beating nominees from across the UK and internationally. More on this can be found here.