• Class focuses on children’s strengths, helping them face their individual challenges
  • Students and families benefit from having all supportive services in the same place

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: GEMS Metropole School – Motor City has introduced a new Unity Class in partnership with Neuropedia Children’s Neuroscience Center to provide additional support to young students with more significant special needs.

The Unity Class follows an adapted strength-based curriculum that embraces specialist therapy in which students are effectively included in all aspects of the school journey through a play-based and child-led learning environment.

The incorporation of multi-disciplinary services, such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, provides an integrated offer for families, eliminating the need to access therapy services that are isolated from and located outside the child’s school.

In line with the Dubai Inclusive Education Policy Framework, the new Unity Class extends the provision available for Students of Determination within the private school sector, with the partnership with Neuropedia enhancing GEMS Metropole School’s ability to cater to a more diverse cohort of students.

Naveed Iqbal, Principal of GEMS Metropole School said: “The knowledge and skills sharing enabled through this partnership is further extended to provide guidance to families on how to support their children at home and enable them to succeed at their own pace. Young learners will develop important skills such as problem solving, critical thinking and resilience to help them secure strong progression in their educational careers. They will also be equipped to become independent in their lives after school. The vision driving our inclusion provision is ‘happy learners are effective learners’.”

Dr Arif Khan, Medical Director and Consultant Paediatric Neurologist said: “This partnership will provide children with special needs access to a structured academic curriculum along with the added advantage of having all the therapy and supportive services within the same space. The Unity Class is a unique concept of a structured inclusion programme with special emphasis on students’ emotional, educational and behavioural development.”

The Unity Class teacher is an expert in special educational needs and disabilities, while the Neuropedia therapy team comprises a speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, paediatric and educational psychologist, clinical psychologist, applied behavioural analysis (ABA) therapist. There is also support provided from the wider Neuropedia team, including a paediatric neurologist and neurodiagnostics practitioner, paediatric physiotherapist, paediatric feeding therapist, clinical geneticist and Paediatric Orthopaedist. All practitioners work closely together to support individual student programmes as required.

Four-year-old GEMS Metropole student Youssef Ibrahim, who is enrolled in the Unity Class, said: “I like my class and I like my teacher because she is a nice teacher. I like when Ms Praise and Ms Majel come to play in the class. We have lots of toys. My favourite toy is the train track.”

Youssef’s mother, Mrs Samia Bitam said: “He tells me every day that he loves his teacher and loves his class so much. He also keeps saying he would like to sleep in school and wants his colleague Ryan to come on a playdate.”

Mrs Bhuvaneswari Dharmarajulu, mother of four-year-old GEMS Metropole student Ryan, said: “We are really happy that our child is settling well, and he is keen to go to school every day, which is a plus. We see that having an ABA session every day is a good platform for Ryan’s intervention. Receiving support and updates from the class teacher in particular is very positive and we are thankful for that.”

GEMS Metropole students also have the opportunity to engage with the school’s pet canine, Lotus, who plays an important role within the school as an ‘emotional support animal’. They can also participate in all facets of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, with access to farm and gardening activities, physical education and phonics, as well as social behaviour development via outdoor playtime, and exposure to diversity and language improvement.

­­-Ends- 

About GEMS Education

GEMS Education is one of the world’s oldest and largest K-12 private education providers. It is a highly regarded choice for quality private education in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a company founded in the UAE in 1959, it holds an unparalleled track record of providing diverse curricula and educational choices to all socio-economic means. GEMS Education now owns and operates 63 schools and educates over 130,000 students in the MENA region; and through its growing network of schools as well as charitable contributions is fulfilling the founder’s vision of putting a quality education within the reach of every child.

About Neuropedia

Neuropedia Children’s Neuroscience Center is the first highly specialised paediatric neuroscience centre in the United Arab Emirates offering state-of-the-art expert care to children and young people across the UAE and GCC countries. Neuropedia provides comprehensive care for infants, children and young people with a wide spectrum of acute and chronic neurological, developmental, behavioural and psychological disorders.

For further information about GEMS Education, visit www.gemseducation.com 

Send us your press releases to pressrelease.zawya@refinitiv.com

© Press Release 2021

Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.

The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.