Outstanding Schools Middle East 2023 Agenda

Across the Middle East, greater emphasis is being placed on the role of education in achieving global sustainability goals. In April 2023 the UAE’s Ministry of Education announced its Green Education Partnership with UNESCO and UNICEF, which includes a pledge to have 50% of school campuses be ‘Green Accredited’ before COP 28 takes place in Dubai this year.

Increasing scrutiny of schools’ environmental impact in the UAE and beyond means that it is imperative that international school leaders set out tangible goals for creating truly sustainable and environmentally friendly school communities.

Join d’Arcy Lunn, the Global Head of Sustainability and Global Citizenship at Education in Motion (EiM), for an interactive breakfast briefing to network with fellow school leaders and discover strategies to reduce the environmental impact of your schools.

• Learn about the philosophy and approach towards sustainability and global citizenship at EiM including initiatives at the Green School Bali, which forms part of the EiM group, as a model for international schools in the Middle East.
• Discover practical tips for utilising the business practices of ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) reporting and carbon mapping to enhance conversations, convictions and impacts for learning and operations.
• Consider, beyond green accreditation efforts, how international schools in the Middle East can become models of sustainable education and operations from EiM’s approach and utilisation of current business practices.

Please note that breakfast briefing spaces are limited and will be provided on a first come, first served basis when delegates register to attend the conference.

Outstanding Schools will welcome delegates to the first day of the conference, which will focus on two interrelated themes: Leadership and Workforce and Wellbeing and Inclusion. 

An uplifting keynote address to encourage and enthuse your leaders so that they feel empowered for the changes ahead. 

• Infusing leadership with professional love. 
• Leading in the brave space of ambiguity and change. 
• The questions courageous leaders ask their teams and themselves. There are three questions that only courageous- ethical leaders dare to ask. 

Prepare for change! 

• As international schools in the Middle East increasingly cater to a local population, rather than their traditional expatriate market, how should they adapt their provision to meet the needs of the region’s local market and changing demographics?  
• How can international school leaders align themselves with national agendas and meet government bodies’ expectations whilst counterbalancing this with their international aims? 
• Educating Generations Z and Alpha – how can educators meet the ever-evolving needs of these generations of students and ensure that they are prepared for changing industry requirements? 
• What skills and competencies should international schools be teaching in 2023 and beyond? Are interdisciplinary approaches and vocational subjects the future of international pedagogy? 
• What practical steps can international schools take to shift educational paradigms and bring key stakeholders on board whilst doing so? 
• Does the sector need to radically re-evaluate the purpose of international education? 

Delegates are invited to join one of the interactive workshops taking place on Day 1 of the conference. The workshop sessions will take place concurrently and correspond to topics related to the two streams taking place on Day 1: Leadership and Workforce and Wellbeing and Inclusion. 

The sessions are an hour in length and will consist of a short presentation by the workshop facilitator followed by a guided, interactive discussion between delegates. These sessions will provide delegates with an opportunity to discuss shared challenges, exchange best practice guidance and work together to develop tangible outcomes to improve their schools. 

Please find the details of the available workshops in the Leadership and Workforce stream below. Workshops in the Wellbeing and Inclusion stream are featured on the relevant agenda page. 

• In an increasingly competitive and saturated market, how can international schools in the Middle East set about identifying and securing outstanding candidates that fit the values and ethos of their schools?  
• What are the motivations underpinning educators’ career choices? 
• How can school leaders ensure that they are employing equitable and non-discriminatory hiring practices? 

• How can schools develop a culture of coaching within individual schools and across school groups to create a more effective workforce? 
• Discover the difference between coaching and mentoring, as well as when best to employ one approach over the other. 
• Hear how you can cultivate authentic coaching relationships that bring out the best in your staff. 

The report ‘Determining the Diversity Baseline in International Schools’ (2021) by the Council of International Schools (CIS) highlighted that, despite women being overrepresented within teaching faculty, men are three times more likely to be heads of international schools than women. Moreover, school heads are eight times more likely to be from a Western country and five times more likely to be white.   

• What intersectional challenges preclude some women and educators of colour from advancing to senior leadership positions in international schools in the Middle East? 
• What can be done to disrupt and dismantle the systems and structures that support this? 
• How are hiring committees’ unconscious biases impacting their recruitment practices and thereby fostering inequity within international schools?
• What practical steps can senior leadership teams take to confront and tackle these conscious and unconscious biases? 
• What does it mean to be a true ally to women and educators of colour?  
• How can existing leaders leverage their positions to advocate for greater parity within the sector? 

In April 2023, Victory Heights Primary School was awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) having been rated ‘Very Good’ during their previous inspection.

• Hear directly from the senior leadership team at Victory Heights Primary School about how they successfully enacted such substantial improvements to the overall effectiveness of the school in such a short period of time.
• Discover actionable insights and strategies that you can implement at your institution to create and sustain an outstanding school.
• How can schools establish attainable goals in response to feedback provided by regulatory bodies, as well as clear KPIs so that they can track their progress and hold key stakeholders accountable?

• Discover how the philosophy and framework underpinning high performance learning can be used to develop high performing leaders amongst your student body. 
• How can international schools contribute to the creation of a high-performance generation who will positively impact the region? 
• How can international schools design a scheme whereby leadership skills are instilled across the curriculum?  
• Defining leadership as an academic activity and rethinking the purpose of education considering the reduced lifespan of knowledge in the twenty-first century. 

• What does good stakeholder governance consist of? How can school leaders go about balancing the different priorities of key groups both within and beyond their school communities?
• School leaders often liaise with and must effectively work alongside individuals – such as financiers and investors – who have never worked within the education sector. What best practices should school leaders adopt when managing relationships with colleagues who are unfamiliar with the norms of the educational landscape?
• How can schools go about balancing international and national agendas, especially with regard to the expectations of local government bodies?

• Hear from ISC Research about what their data and insights reveal about the key trends and challenges that are set to impact the international education sector in the Middle East in 2023 and beyond. 
• How has international education changed in the region during the last 12 months and what is likely to impact the sector in the year ahead? 
• What will be business critical for international schools and school groups to focus on over the coming academic year to ensure that they can distinguish themselves from their competitors and capitalise on the growth in the regional demand for international education? 
• Discover how changing demographics within the Middle East seeking out an English-medium education along with the growth of business in the region will affect international education in the Middle East going forward. 

• Discover best practice guidance for establishing inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning communities within international schools that leverage the agency of all key stakeholders, including voices that have been historically marginalised.
• How a diverse senior leadership team can improve the wellbeing of your school, resulting in resilient school communities that can withstand the impact of unexpected crises.

Across the Middle East, greater emphasis is being placed on the role of education in achieving global sustainability goals. In April 2023 the UAE’s Ministry of Education announced its Green Education Partnership with UNESCO and UNICEF, which includes a pledge to have 50% of school campuses be ‘Green Accredited’ before COP 28 takes place in Dubai this year.

Increasing scrutiny of schools’ environmental impact in the UAE and beyond means that it is imperative that international school leaders set out tangible goals for creating truly sustainable and environmentally friendly school communities.

Join d’Arcy Lunn, the Global Head of Sustainability and Global Citizenship at Education in Motion (EiM), for an interactive breakfast briefing to network with fellow school leaders and discover strategies to reduce the environmental impact of your schools.

• Learn about the philosophy and approach towards sustainability and global citizenship at EiM including initiatives at the Green School Bali, which forms part of the EiM group, as a model for international schools in the Middle East.
• Discover practical tips for utilising the business practices of ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) reporting and carbon mapping to enhance conversations, convictions and impacts for learning and operations.
• Consider, beyond green accreditation efforts, how international schools in the Middle East can become models of sustainable education and operations from EiM’s approach and utilisation of current business practices.

Please note that breakfast briefing spaces are limited and will be provided on a first come, first served basis when delegates register to attend the conference.

Outstanding Schools will welcome delegates to the first day of the conference, which will focus on two interrelated themes: Leadership and Workforce and Wellbeing and Inclusion. 

An uplifting keynote address to encourage and enthuse your leaders so that they feel empowered for the changes ahead. 

• Infusing leadership with professional love. 
• Leading in the brave space of ambiguity and change. 
• The questions courageous leaders ask their teams and themselves. There are three questions that only courageous- ethical leaders dare to ask. 

Prepare for change!

• As international schools in the Middle East increasingly cater to a local population, rather than their traditional expatriate market, how should they adapt their provision to meet the needs of the region’s local market and changing demographics?  
• How can international school leaders align themselves with national agendas and meet government bodies’ expectations whilst counterbalancing this with their international aims? 
• Educating Generations Z and Alpha – how can educators meet the ever-evolving needs of these generations of students and ensure that they are prepared for changing industry requirements? 
• What skills and competencies should international schools be teaching in 2023 and beyond? Are interdisciplinary approaches and vocational subjects the future of international pedagogy? 
• What practical steps can international schools take to shift educational paradigms and bring key stakeholders on board whilst doing so? 
• Does the sector need to radically re-evaluate the purpose of international education? 

Delegates are invited to join one of the interactive workshops taking place on Day 1 of the conference. The workshop sessions will take place concurrently and correspond to topics related to the two streams taking place on Day 1: Leadership and Workforce and Wellbeing and Inclusion. 

The sessions are an hour in length and will consist of a short presentation by the workshop facilitator followed by a guided, interactive discussion between delegates. These sessions will provide delegates with an opportunity to discuss shared challenges, exchange best practice guidance and work together to develop tangible outcomes to improve their schools. 

Please find the details of the available workshops in the Wellbeing and Inclusion stream below. Workshops in the Leadership and Workforce stream are featured on the relevant agenda page. 

• Explore the importance of establishing a whole school approach to the management of safeguarding and wellbeing.
• Understand the guiding principles of good safeguarding and wellbeing practice, and the important steps that school leaders can take to cultivate a culture that prioritises safeguarding and wellbeing within their school.
• What proactive steps can school leaders take to ensure the successful implementation of a whole school safeguarding and wellbeing strategy? 
• What challenges typically arise when establishing a new school safeguarding and wellbeing strategy? How can school leaders establish an organisational culture that can address and mitigate the impact of these challenges? 

• How can schools develop a holistic, whole-school approach to wellbeing that encompasses the needs of both students, educators, and school leaders? 
• What do effective, wellbeing policies look like in practice? 
• Strategies to help reduce stress and burnout in teaching faculty and senior leadership teams. 

• How can international schools go about instituting long-term, school wide DEIJB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging) strategies and initiatives that are culturally and contextually responsive?  
• How can school leaders promote the long-term success and sustainability of DEIJB strategies?  
• Understanding the best ways in which to address, challenge and reduce racism in your school community. 
• How much impact do international schools have on local and regional thinking regarding diversity and inclusion?  

• How academic researchers define wellbeing today, reflecting on the two main bodies of wellbeing research. These are about how people feel about their lives, and how people function in their lives. These contrasting conceptualisations of wellbeing are hardly new; both have roots in ancient Greece.
• An exploration of where wellbeing fits within a holistic approach to education and three key reasons why schools should focus upon wellbeing. This includes the research evidence of a link with attainment.
• Insights about why wellbeing is worth evaluating or assessing. Wellbeing data can be used pedagogically to teach students about wellbeing. It can also be used to identify individuals in need of more support, to develop whole school wellbeing policies, and to evaluate interventions to improve wellbeing.

Hear from the senior leadership team at Beech Hall School Riyadh about how they established the first wholly inclusive international school in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• How can school leadership teams maintain productive relationships with parents and caregivers to ensure that  foster confidence, so that they become co-constructors of students’ pathways?
• What does it mean to be a truly inclusive school from a teaching and learning perspective? 
• How can schools create an environment in which children with significant learning needs can study alongside their peers? 
• The importance of creating physical spaces on school campuses that promote wellbeing and inclusion. 
• Establishing holistic, whole-school initiatives to benefit SEN and neurodiverse students. 

In 2022, the Al-Bayan International School received a special commendation from ISC Research at the International School Awards for having successfully introduced extensive inclusive education in Kuwait. Hear from the senior leadership team about how they achieved this, as well as insights about how to ensure that your school’s SEN provision is as innovative as your mainstream provision.  

• Thinking beyond inclusion, what strategies should schools be employing to differentiate and personalise SEN students’ learning experiences? 
• What strategies should be employed so that schools can provide SEN students with the same opportunities to develop twenty-first century competencies as their peers? 
• How can schools ensure that they are building capacity in SEN learners to ensure their success beyond the educational environment? 
• What strategies should international schools employ to dispel cultural preconceptions and concerns regarding students with diverse learning needs? 

• Hear from ISC Research about what their data and insights reveal about the key trends and challenges that are set to impact the international education sector in the Middle East in 2023 and beyond. 
• How has international education changed in the region during the last 12 months and what is likely to impact the sector in the year ahead? 
• What will be business critical for international schools and school groups to focus on over the coming academic year to ensure that they can distinguish themselves from their competitors and capitalise on the growth in the regional demand for an international education? 
• Discover how changing demographics within the Middle East seeking out an English-medium education along with the growth of business in the region will affect international education in the Middle East going forward. 

• Discover best practice guidance for establishing inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning communities within international schools that leverage the agency of all key stakeholders, including voices that have been historically marginalised.
• How a diverse senior leadership team can improve the wellbeing of your school, resulting in resilient school communities that can withstand the impact of unexpected crises.

Although the number of women in leadership positions in international schools has been growing steadily in recent years, there is still not equal representation in executive and leadership teams at Middle Eastern international schools.

Join Nalini Cook, the Head of Global Research at ISC Research, and Esther Mustamu-Daniels, the MENA Network Lead for WomenEd,  for this interactive breakfast briefing designed to empower female leaders and their allies to create effective networks of like-minded individuals and cultivate strategies to promote greater equity within their school leadership teams.

• Strategise what can be done to disrupt and dismantle the existing systems and structures that promote gendered inequality in international education.
• Share tangible examples of how those already in leadership positions – men and women alike – can empower and advocate for women seeking leadership positions.
• What barriers to leadership in international schools most commonly impact aspiring female leaders?
• Learn how you can set up or join informal and formal networks that promote powerful allyship and provide opportunities to coach and mentor aspiring female leaders.

Please note that breakfast briefing spaces are limited and will be provided on a first come, first served basis when delegates register to attend the conference.

The world has and continues to change in ways that are difficult to predict. Regardless of the forces at hand, educators play a pivotal role in preparing students for success now and in the future. The best way to do this is to create a disruptive thinking culture in our classrooms and schools that future-proofs learning for all children!

Based on the 2021 book Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms: Preparing Learners for Their Future, this keynote session promises to deliver the following:

• Get ready for a roller coaster journey that weaves stories, practical ideas, and insights from thousands of classrooms to create meaningful learning experiences that will withstand the test of time.
• It’s time to challenge the status quo when it comes to teaching and learning in our classrooms. Our learners—and their future in a bold new world—depend on us.

• How can international schools improve existing pedagogical practices with regards to Arabic language and cultural studies? 
• What CPD should schools institute to ensure that Arabic language and cultural studies provision are of the highest quality within international schools? 
• How can leaders source, recruit and retain leading educators specialising in Arabic language and culture? 
• Developing innovative approaches to Arabic language and cultural studies that foster intercultural appreciation. 

Recent advancements in generative AI put us at the brink of a significant revolution in education. AI, if used in the right way, can usher in a new era of hyper-personalised and future-ready learning. We at Toddle believe that the most potent application of AI in education will be in supercharging teacher capabilities. AI brings the promise of liberating teachers from non-core tasks allowing them to focus on their true passion – teaching.

We at Toddle are taking a giant leap forward in our mission of supporting educators in doing their best work. We’ve launched Toddle AI with the goal to provide each teacher around the world with a personal teaching assistant – an assistant that possesses near-magical abilities. With Toddle AI, thousands of teachers at our partner schools are already saving up to 8 hours per week. Toddle AI will not only help teachers get their time back but also help them elevate their teaching practice so they can provide each child with the personalised learning experience they need and deserve.

Meet our founder, Misbah Jafary, to learn more about our approach to building Toddle AI and to get a glimpse into the future of teaching and learning.

Delegates are invited to join one of the interactive workshops taking place on Day 2 of the conference. The workshop sessions will take place concurrently and correspond to topics related to the two streams taking place on Day 2: EdTech and School Management and Teaching and Learning. 

The sessions are an hour in length and will consist of a short presentation by the workshop facilitator followed by a guided, interactive discussion between delegates. These sessions will provide delegates with an opportunity to discuss shared challenges, exchange best practice guidance and work together to develop tangible outcomes to improve their schools. 

Please find the details of the available workshops in the EdTech and School Management stream below. Workshops in the Teaching and Learning stream are featured on the relevant agenda page.

• International schools are data rich institutions, yet there is often limited understanding about how to best manage this data or how to use it to improve school outcomes.
• How can schools build the foundations for data success?
• How can schools clearly communicate data analysis to key stakeholders in the school community, especially those who are not data literate?
• How can schools use data more effectively to drive interventions and strategic planning?

• Nowadays, many schools and students make use of digital devices and are prone to sensitive and inappropriate content. The number of these devices is rapidly growing and managing these devices with different operating systems can be a hard task.
• How can schools actively monitor their students’ web-activity on devices?
• How can schools embrace digital transformation & education without having their students distracted by their devices?
• What software should schools use to ensure that their staff can identify and appropriately response to cyberthreats and monitor their students’ web-activity?

• Since the outset of 2023, ChatGPT has been at the forefront of conversations amongst educators. How can international schools begin the journey to embracing AI?
• How can international schools proactively prepare for the onset of new digital technologies, rather than having a consistently reactive approach to them?
• How will AI impact the future of teaching and learning, as well as curriculum development and assessment practices? 
• The Ethics of AI: How can students be educated to use AI safely, effectively, and responsibly?
• How should schools go about educating children about the biases inherent to AI and Machine Learning programmes?

Durham School for Girls Doha was founded in Qatar in 2019 in association with Qatari sponsors who wanted their daughters to attend an all-girls, British curriculum school with an established reputation with an all-female campus. The school’s aim was to provide a British education whilst ensuring that students retained a strong sense of their Qatari identity.

The school now predominantly caters to local Qatari families seeking out an English-medium education for their daughters. Discover key insights and best practice guidance from the founding senior leadership team about how to establish a successful new school in the Middle East.

• When founding a school in the Middle East that is affiliated with a school overseas, what precisely do you prioritise in terms of core identity and values?
• How can you distil an affiliated school’s identity but align it with the values of the local context in which the new school is situated? 
• What can senior leadership teams of newly established schools do to ensure that they are addressing the needs and values of their local context and community? How can they establish community buy-in from the outset? 
• What are the specific needs of local families looking for an English-medium, international education? 
• Hear practical guidance about facility development and management.

• An engaged alumni community can be an invaluable asset for international schools in terms of opportunities for students and fundraising initiatives. What are the other long-term benefits of leveraging your alumni community? 
• How can international schools engage their alumni community rather than just managing data about them? 
• What should international schools be offering their alumni to secure their long-term support and engagement? 
• What makes a great alumni programme and how can schools measure the success of such programmes?

• Foundations – Holistic assessment requires guiding principles to match.
• Validation – Ownership of stories and use beyond schools.
• Implementation – What to report upon and why.
• Outcomes – Where we are now and where we plan to go in future.

In this live recording of the newly launched Outstanding Schools podcast ‘Class Act’ – a transnational podcast inspired by and created for international educators – join Sagarika Sriram and Hannah Burke-Tomlinson as they discuss:

• Sagarika’s journey as a youth activist for climate change and her work with the UN.
• The importance of climate education, especially in the context of UAE.
• The role that international educators and the international schools sector as a whole can play to empower youth activism within their schools and help mitigate an ever-worsening climate catastrophe.

With COP 28 scheduled to take place in Dubai between the 30th of November and 12th of December 2023, it is timely for international schools in the Middle East to reflect on how they can leverage their resources and pedagogical expertise to help combat an ever-worsening climate catastrophe. 

• How can international schools and school leaders meaningfully contribute to global sustainability goals, especially with regards to climate change and environmental education? 
• The importance of infusing environmental education within international curricula and guidance for embedding sustainability within cross-curricula initiatives. 
• How can schools establish sustainable practices in their school operations and infrastructure? What practical steps can schools at varying stages in their sustainability journeys take to become more sustainable and create environmentally friendly campuses? 
• Best practice guidance for establishing local community partnerships and networks centred upon sustainability initiatives. 

Although the number of women in leadership positions in international schools has been growing steadily in recent years, there is still not equal representation in executive and leadership teams at Middle Eastern international schools.

Join Nalini Cook, the Head of Global Research at ISC Research, and Esther Mustamu-Daniels, the MENA Network Lead for WomenEd, for this interactive breakfast briefing designed to empower female leaders and their allies to create effective networks of like-minded individuals and cultivate strategies to promote greater equity within their school leadership teams.

• Strategise what can be done to disrupt and dismantle the existing systems and structures that promote gendered inequality in international education.
• Share tangible examples of how those already in leadership positions – men and women alike – can empower and advocate for women seeking leadership positions.
• What barriers to leadership in international schools most commonly impact aspiring female leaders?
• Learn how you can set up or join informal and formal networks that promote powerful allyship and provide opportunities to coach and mentor aspiring female leaders.

Please note that breakfast briefing spaces are limited and will be provided on a first come, first served basis when delegates register to attend the conference.

The world has and continues to change in ways that are difficult to predict. Regardless of the forces at hand, educators play a pivotal role in preparing students for success now and in the future. The best way to do this is to create a disruptive thinking culture in our classrooms and schools that future-proofs learning for all children!

Based on the 2021 book Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms: Preparing Learners for Their Future, this keynote session promises to deliver the following:

• Get ready for a roller coaster journey that weaves stories, practical ideas, and insights from thousands of classrooms to create meaningful learning experiences that will withstand the test of time.
• It’s time to challenge the status quo when it comes to teaching and learning in our classrooms. Our learners—and their future in a bold new world—depend on us.

• How can international schools improve existing pedagogical practices with regards to Arabic language and cultural studies? 
• What CPD should schools institute to ensure that Arabic language and cultural studies provision are of the highest quality within international schools? 
• How can leaders source, recruit and retain leading educators specialising in Arabic language and culture? 
• Developing innovative approaches to Arabic language and cultural studies that foster intercultural appreciation. 

Recent advancements in generative AI put us at the brink of a significant revolution in education. AI, if used in the right way, can usher in a new era of hyper-personalised and future-ready learning. We at Toddle believe that the most potent application of AI in education will be in supercharging teacher capabilities. AI brings the promise of liberating teachers from non-core tasks allowing them to focus on their true passion – teaching.

We at Toddle are taking a giant leap forward in our mission of supporting educators in doing their best work. We’ve launched Toddle AI with the goal to provide each teacher around the world with a personal teaching assistant – an assistant that possesses near-magical abilities. With Toddle AI, thousands of teachers at our partner schools are already saving up to 8 hours per week. Toddle AI will not only help teachers get their time back but also help them elevate their teaching practice so they can provide each child with the personalised learning experience they need and deserve.

Meet our founder, Misbah Jafary, to learn more about our approach to building Toddle AI and to get a glimpse into the future of teaching and learning.

Delegates are invited to join one of the interactive workshops taking place on Day 2 of the conference. The workshop sessions will take place concurrently and correspond to topics related to the two streams taking place on Day 2: EdTech and School Management and Teaching and Learning. 

The sessions are an hour in length and will consist of a short presentation by the workshop facilitator followed by a guided, interactive discussion between delegates. These sessions will provide delegates with an opportunity to discuss shared challenges, exchange best practice guidance and work together to develop tangible outcomes to improve their schools. 

Please find the details of the available workshops in the Teaching and Learning stream below. Workshops in the EdTech and School Management stream are featured on the relevant agenda page. 

• How do you go beyond operationally sustainable initiatives and truly infuse sustainability within your school’s curriculum? 
• How can you develop and implement cross-curricula initiatives that offer age-appropriate environmental education to students? 

• Bi- and Multilingual Learners (BMLs) are one of the fastest-growing student groups in English-medium schools and they make up a large percentage of the student population in international schools in the Middle East. Many international schools are currently experiencing challenges with the attainment gap and learning loss brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic – especially with regard to literacy.
• How can educators create an effective strategy to raise reading levels across all year groups irrespective of individual lingual competencies?
• What best practice strategies should educators be employing to meet the needs of bilingual and multilingual learners (BMLs, EAL, ELL, ESL students) who are below where they should be with regard to their literacy?
• Workshop participants can expect to gain valuable information about research, best practices and practical strategies through engaging activities, examples and demonstrations.

This session will consist of three 10-minute lightning talks, followed by a 15-minute summary panel discussion and moderated live Q&A. 

Hear case studies from three leading international schools who have successfully implemented cross-curricula initiatives focused on subjects pertaining to emerging digital technologies and innovations within their school’s teaching and learning strategy.  

Discover how you might similarly incorporate digital innovations within your school and provide your students with skills and competencies for the twenty-first-century workplace. 

Lightning Talk 1: Esports 

• The Esports business is set to have an estimated value of over $200 billion in 2023. With that in mind, how can international schools provide their students with an opportunity to explore career opportunities in this burgeoning industry?  
• Discover cross-curricula approaches to the study of Esports. 
• Which twenty-first-century competencies can be inculcated by incorporating Esports within your school’s teaching and learning strategy? 
• The business case for Esports: what are the financial implications of establishing an Esports teaching and learning strategy? 

Lightning Talk 2: NFTs and Cryptocurrency 

• Discover from a leading international school about how they are embedding the study of NFTs and cryptocurrencies within their teaching and learning strategy. 
• How can the study of cryptocurrencies benefit children’s financial literacy? 
• How can schools balance providing an innovative yet age-appropriate approach to the study of NFTs and cryptocurrency? 

Lightning Talk 3: The Metaverse 

• How can educators mobilise the Metaverse to enhance their teaching and learning provision across different core subjects? 
• How can the Metaverse be used to create more interactive and personalised learning experiences for students? 
• How can the Metaverse be used to promote global collaboration, global citizenship and intercultural appreciation?

• What best practice strategies should teachers be employing to ensure that they are challenging and scaffolding all learners in core STEM subjects?
• The importance of evidence-based assessment practices and how assessment can feed into effective challenge to ensure that students meet their maximum potential.

• The recent increase of Russian, Ukrainian, Chechnyan and Chinese students seeking an English-medium education has brought about a renewed focus on delivering outstanding EAL provision in Middle Eastern international schools. 
• How can schools respond and adapt to the distinct lingual competencies of existing and incoming students, especially those who do not speak English upon arrival? 
• What strategies and techniques should educators employ to benefit home language, bilingual, multilingual and EAL learners in the classroom? 
• Counterbalancing EAL provision with emphasis on students’ home languages and Arabic. 
• How can additive bilingualism, in conjunction with EAL provision, foster intercultural appreciation and help to embed children within their local community? 
• How can international schools establish a culture of additive bilingualism that counterbalances EAL requirements with students’ home languages? 

• Foundations – Holistic assessment requires guiding principles to match.
• Validation – Ownership of stories and use beyond schools.
• Implementation – What to report upon and why.
• Outcomes – Where we are now and where we plan to go in future.

In this live recording of the newly launched Outstanding Schools podcast ‘Class Act’ – a transnational podcast inspired by and created for international educators – join Sagarika Sriram and Hannah Burke-Tomlinson as they discuss:

• Sagarika’s journey as a youth activist for climate change and her work with the UN.
• The importance of climate education, especially in the context of UAE.
• The role that international educators and the international schools sector as a whole can play to empower youth activism within their schools and help mitigate an ever-worsening climate catastrophe.

With COP 28 scheduled to take place in Dubai between the 30th of November and 12th of December 2023, it is timely for international schools in the Middle East to reflect on how they can leverage their resources and pedagogical expertise to help combat an ever-worsening climate catastrophe. 

• How can international schools and school leaders meaningfully contribute to global sustainability goals, especially with regards to climate change and environmental education? 
• The importance of infusing environmental education within international curricula and guidance for embedding sustainability within cross-curricula initiatives.
• How can schools establish sustainable practices in their school operations and infrastructure? What practical steps can schools at varying stages in their sustainability journeys take to become more sustainable and create environmentally friendly campuses? 
• Best practice guidance for establishing local community partnerships and networks centred upon sustainability initiatives.