With more than 20 years experience in the field of education, Dr Safiuddin Siddiqui is the driving force behind Meritorious Education Network. His commitment to excellence and personal success was recognised early, when he was awarded the Allama Iqbal Gold Medal in. This is awarded by the Ministry of Education for the pupil who achieved the highest marks in Pakistan for his or her High School Board examinations.

A graduate of the Aga Khan Medical University in Karachi, Dr Siddiqui nurtured his own passion for education by teaching medical students in the university. He founded Meritorious Education in 1994, and it soon became popular with pupils, parents and educators. So far, more than 20,000 Meritorious students have benefitted from our schools, colleges, nurseries and training centres. In Dubai, our intention is to build on that success and bring the concept of a Meritorious education to the UAE and GCC (and beyond).

Dr Siddiqui’s philosophy places achievement and character building at the centre of learning. “Education,” he says, “is like growing a tree or painting a picture or making music: we must put our hearts into it, love it, nurture it and it must become our passion and vocation.” Meritorious Education Network is guided by the principle that no child is un-teachable and that everyone has the right to achieve his or her dreams. It is a simple philosophy, but one which is often overlooked in a modern world where the race seems more important than the achievement.

Richard Bradley joined Meritorious from the UK. He gained his degrees from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) and the University of London and trained as a teacher at Trinity College, Cambridge. His experience is varied: he has worked in all kinds of schools, from private to state-controlled, from grammar schools to comprehensives. He has held senior pastoral and academic positions in UK schools and is a graduate of the “Fast Track Teaching” accelerated leadership programme. The philosophies that underpin his approach to teaching and learning complement Dr Siddiqui’s belief in the nature of education: good education takes time, commitment, energy and belief. To get the best from teachers, they must be allowed the creative space to innovate and develop.

Our leadership vision is based on the idea of getting it right first time. This means promoting and executing the highest standards of care and education from the very beginning and never settling for anything less than excellent. This is a tough undertaking, but one we feel ready for. The philosophy is based on the principle that teamwork and accountability go hand in hand: we train our staff throughout the year (not just in occasional seminars and workshops) and we train them ‘on the job’, so that we get the most out of them and they learn in a practical way in real situations. Every interaction between management and employee is an opportunity for learning and development. All of this will come together to produce a highly qualified and highly skilled team of individuals who can bring something truly unique to Dubai.

Dalal Ahmed is the Nursery School Manager. Her experience in nursery schooling spans more than 20 years in Dubai and Egypt. Dalal has both brought energy and knowledge to the Meritorious vision and is working tirelessly to bring our nursery division up to standard.

She is assisted in this task by Louise Brookes and Petra Walker. Both UK Nationals, they have joined Meritorious to help us realise the ambition of a superlative British standard education at pre-school. Working in Little Hands Kids Club (soon to be Blessings Nursery) with Dalal and an excellent team of teachers and carers, their experience and passion for education are second to none. Louise is a fully qualified teacher. She trained in Yorkshire, North England and has experience of different types of schools, including one in ‘special measures’. Petra has a wealth of experience in business, and will be instrumental in helping to streamline processes and assure a consistently high quality of provision.

Maxine Win is the Lead Teacher. Qualified and trained in New Zealand, she has exceptional knowledge of early years education and uses a variety of stimulating teaching methods to get the best out of her pupils. She is in overall charge of the educational, pedagogical and curriculum aspects of the pre-school.
Academics

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the preschool curriculum developed by the UK Government and taught in all British nurseries and pre-school environments. The delivery of this curriculum is highly varied in Dubai. At Little Hands Kids Club our aim is clear: we want to provide each child with an education that is indistinguishable from what they would receive in England. We want our nurseries to look and feel British and, most importantly, provide care and teaching that is up to British standards. This is our commitment to you:

Fully qualified teachers who specialise in early years teaching and care, trained in the UK, EU, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.
A stimulating programme of learning, drawing on the best expertise from around the world to provide nurturing environments where social, emotional, cultural, physical and educational development is placed at the forefront of our practice.
Continuous improvement of standards to provide outstanding learning outcomes for all children, involving parents and caregivers in decisions and keeping them aware of the development of their children.
Inspections of our facilities and provisions according to Ofsted minimum requirements.

There are 7 learning areas in the EYFS, internationally recognized as essential parts of a child’s early development. The first three are considered fundamental. The last four learning areas strengthen the first three and provide applications for them. Click on a segment below to learn more.

Children are given a rich language environment in which they learn to express themselves in words and become confident users of language. At Little Hands Kids Club the chief language of communication is English: all our staff speak English to a high level or are native speakers. We will provide language classes in languages other than English as part of our extra-curricular programme. Our teachers will design lessons where children need to speak and listen in a variety of situations and communicate their wants, feelings and thoughts in English.

Children must be given opportunities to be physically active and to interact with their environment and others. We will provide a range of physical activities for your children in order to help them develop coordination, control and movement. This will include time outdoors when the temperature allows and excursions to play areas and swimming pools. Our food programme is designed to help children understand the importance of healthy food choices.

Children will be helped to form a positive sense of themselves and others through their interactions with their teachers, who will work always to promote positive behavior. We will give children the opportunity to see diverse cultures and practices by employing an ethnically diverse staff. We will train our staff to use positive reinforcement and to teach about positive role models. We will encourage them to respond appropriately in group situations or at times when they cannot have their own way.

The ability to communicate effectively in writing is a vital skill. At this important stage of learning, we will provide lessons that encourage the linking of sounds and letters and which begin to develop reading and writing. To keep their interest, our teachers will introduce children to a wide range of literature, including poetry and online material.

Our teachers will use proven methods to help your child learn to count and manipulate numbers and data. They will be able to describe shapes, spaces and measures and will begin to use simple addition and subtraction.

By providing opportunities to see the world around them, we will help to children to understand the nature of society, culture and technology. We do not want to provide education that stays in the classroom: we will take your children on outings to places of interest, to see the wider context of their experience.

Using a wide range of media and materials, your children will be able to explore the limits of their creativity. By encouraging imagination and creativity, using everything from songs and music to Play-Doh and paint, your child will be given the opportunity to bring new items into existence, and to express emotion, thoughts, ideas, feelings and beliefs in art, dance, music and play.

We will assess your child’s progress in the key areas when he/ she is between the ages of 3 and 4, and provide parents with a short written summary. This will form the basis of any report the Nursery provides to schools and will also be the main topic of discussion in parents’ evenings.

An “Extracurricular Activity” is an event or experience planned by the school which enriches or enhances the learning and development which occurs in the classroom. We aim to provide a highly varied and interesting programme of activities throughout the year. There are two types:Social Events occur at the start or end of a term, and are intended to focus on children’s social, emotional, cultural and behavioural development. Typically, we will arrange day trips to local (age appropriate) theme parks and play areas where the children, under careful supervision, can experience a mixture of stimulating and enhancing games and activities. EXAMPLES.

Learning events occur at various points in the term and are organized by teachers as ways of enhancing the taught curriculum. They focus on your child’s academic development (literacy, numeracy, physical development and arts and crafts). They range from language classes to yoga and dance or trips to the swimming pool or playground, or they may involve age appropriate cultural excursions to places of interest where the focus is on enriching the taught curriculum. Details of these will be made available as they occur.

All extracurricular activities will be organized to achieve the best deal and will be supplied to parents at cost price: we will never seek to make a profit out of this vital and rewarding aspect of your child’s development and learning.

It is the role of every teacher and teaching assistant to be a source of comfort and guidance to all the children. They are role models whose task is not just to provide academic information, but to be pastoral guides and mentors. Our teachers have considerable experience in child development and they will actively seek to keep parents informed of issues or concerns as they arise. They are also an excellent source of inspiration and guidance for parents who need help or advice with the upbringing of children and education at home. I urge you to open a dialogue with your children’s teachers and the management of the nurseries so that we work together to make certain your child’s emotional and social development is rapid and life-affirming.Louise Brookes (based at the DKV branch) is our Child Protection Specialist. She is well trained on the latest issues in child protection, and is responsible for assuring all staff receive the best and most up-to-date information in this critical area. Please speak to her or email her if you have any questions about this or wish to raise any concerns.

There are two nurses employed by the nursery to look after your child’s physical well-being. All our staff have received basic pediatric first aid training and everyone who works at Little Hands Kids Club (soon to be Blessings Nursery) is caring and compassionate.

Our commitment to you is that your children will be safe, happy and secure in our nurseries. If you have any comments or questions, please direct them to the manager. You may speak with her or send her an email at
[email protected]

The admissions process at Little Hands Kids Club is based on the best possible international standards of admission. Our forms are designed to be easy to complete and uncluttered. We request only the information that we need to provide your child with excellent care and education. We ask you to complete the forms fully, accurately and legibly to help us to give you the best service possible. We have plans to make the process even easier, with online submission and inquiry forms and online mechanisms for the payment of fees.Our commitment to you is that we will turn no child away unless it is impossible for is to provide a safe and secure learning environment for him or her. We accept all children, of all faiths and nationalities, or all languages and cultures, and of all needs, great or small.

Please contact the Manager ([email protected]) or one of the Admissions Officers ([email protected]) for the Knowledge Village branch or ([email protected]) for the Downtown/ Burj Khalifa branch) to arrange a visit and tour of the nursery.

Once you have decided to enrol your child(ren) in the nursery, all you need to do is complete the registration and medical forms (LINK) and pay the registration fee (AED 800, non-refundable) to secure the place. The Admissions Officers and Manager will be able to tell you if there are places available.

Please read the terms and conditions carefully. It is important that you understand them and agree to them. The Management reserves the right to alter the terms and conditions without notice.

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