Arwa Naccho, Group CEO of Green Grass Nursery in Jumeirah and Green Grass Nursery Al Manara thinks so:
“In the past three years I have noticed a big rise in demand from parents who want to keep their child in a nursery setting for longer compared to before.”
“I think it’s because parents are more knowledgeable now about the importance of keeping young children in a less formal setting. Studies have shown that delaying the start of formal teaching is beneficial for children’s development, and nurseries are a homely, less structured environment that are flexible and cater to the needs of working parents in Dubai.”
“I believe that parents are also just more aware now and realise that by moving a child to school before they’re ready could mean them missing out on a year or more of the extra emotional support and help with things like toilet training that they can get in the smaller-class-size setting of a nursery.”
Also Arwa credits the Dubai government’s Executive Council Resolution No. (35) of 2020 for part of the rise in demand for later nursery education. This new regulation officially placed all nurseries, kindergartens and Early Learning Centers under the authority of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which also regulates all Dubai private schools and higher education facilities. This has resulted in positive new standards and guidelines that are designed to drive up the quality of the emirate’s early childhood sector – including strict teaching-qualification requirements, specific staff-to-child ratios (ranging from 1:3 for babies up to 1:12 for 48 – 71 month olds), as well as permission for ECCs to accept additional age groups: FS2/ KG1 (age 4-5 years) and Year 1/KG2 (age 5-6 years).
Ms Naccho says: “I think parents feel like their options for their child’s early-years education have widened after the KHDA change. It’s since the KHDA began regulating ECCs that I have noticed a drive in demand for FS1, and I think it’s because parents feel comfortable that their children will be receiving a high-quality education that meets the same KHDA standards as a school, but in the nurturing setting of a nursery.”
To know more check the article on School compared: