Schools in the UAE are all set to welcome pupils for the 2026-27 academic year, with principals saying there are no changes to opening arrangements despite the missile alert this week.
As campuses prepare to open their gates to more than a million pupils on August 31, school leaders said that no new guidance had been issued and that there were no changes to plans for the start of the new academic year.
Michael Strachan, head of the secondary school at Arcadia British School, spoke of the safety procedures in place and said they would not affect the overall return-to-school experience for children.
“The key thing is business as usual. We have a wonderful set-up for our emergency procedures. The likelihood of anything impacting us is incredibly small,” he said.
“Yes, we have to be mindful of the region and what is happening. That shouldn't have a negative impact on the overall experience of the children in the school. Yes, we are prepared, in the same way we do fire drills and lockdown drills … we have them in place just in case.”
Safe spaces for evacuation
An existing underground section and a car park are among the safe spaces for evacuation.
“We are lucky that a significant amount of our infrastructure is underground,” Mr Strachan said, referring to a multi-purpose hall, a huge underground car park, and rooms for the secondary and primary sections. That means we have a ready-made evacuation place so we can shelter under the building if we need.”
Staff and pupils will spend time refreshing the safety drills that have been in place during the months of conflict since February 28. “We have a very robust safety procedure and evacuation plan, all part of KHDA-mandated requirements for our safety that have been implemented previously,” he said.
“We have those plans in place and part of our training for new staff and returning staff is to go through and refresh those plans to make sure our staff are well aware of all they should do in an emergency. We will do training and drills for the children when they return.”
His comments were echoed by another senior teacher in the UAE. “At the moment, nothing is different for us from last year,” said Stephen Davis, vice principal of Repton School Abu Dhabi.
“We have obviously got really thorough procedures in place which will continue from last academic year. So it's really just about refining those and ensuring everything is as smooth as possible. We will have new students joining us, so we will need to get them up to speed, including those who may have just arrived in the UAE this year. We are making sure we continue what we did previously and tweak and fine-tune where needed.”
The comment comes after an emergency alert was sent to mobile phones in parts of the UAE on the evening of August 18, warning residents of an aerial threat from Iran and instructing the public to take shelter.
School heads said they are continuing to review their existing protocols and already have emergency response and learning procedures in place to cover situations that could require puils and staff to remain indoors or in designated areas.
“We don't expect anything (new) but to have our students back in the building, our parents back in the building. If required, we have a wonderful online provision and are ready to revert to it at any time. But we are 100 per cent ready to have everyone back in the building and learning as they should be, in the four walls here,” Jon Hughes, head teacher of the Senior School at Repton School Abu Dhabi.
Schools have been preparing classrooms, continuing with staff inductions and getting the campus ready to welcome pupils and parents.
John Bagust, director of education and executive principal for the Pace Group of Schools in Dubai and Sharjah, said, “At present, we continue to use the security and safety measures that we put in place earlier in the year until we are advised otherwise. I have not had either KHDA or SPEA give additional guidance regarding the security aspect.”
“For us it's kind of business as usual, and it's just really looking forward to hopefully a really smooth academic year coming up,” Mr Davis added.
What are the security protocols in place?
The safety guidelines followed by schools are nationwide. When UAE schools resumed in-person learning on April 20, campuses opened with enhanced safety protocols, including mandatory “shelter-in-place” procedures and blue-taped safe zones in line with new nationwide safety regulations.
Safety measures also included strict campus access controls, staff training, and the suspension of large gatherings.
School leaders said the measures are part of existing emergency and business continuity plans. They include moving pupils and staff to designated safe areas, keeping them away from windows and other exposed locations, and restricting movement on campus. The school should also take attendance, account for pupils and staff, and maintain communication with parents.
The school must follow the official guidance and keep pupils on site until authorities deem it safe to resume normal movement.
