The Sheffield Private School Dubai

[judi]

Does anyone have any information on The Sheffield Private School in Dubai? I have been on all the websites I can find, but I was wondering if there was any one who had ever worked there and had some first hand knowledge of the school itself or what the accomodation is like that is being offered with the job. Any information about the local area and things to do there would also be greatly appreciated. (I haven't accepted the job yet!)

[shawarma]

Sheffield Private School - that's a bit of information from DubaiFAQs.com but it probably won't tell you if you should take a job or not.

I don't know enough about the school personally but I can make a couple of general comments.

Salary offered will give you some idea. If it's less than 7k dhs per month, it won't be a fun place. 7-10k might be ok, and over 10k it's probably a decent enough school to teach at.

Did they offer you accommodation? Where?

Sheffield School is one of the GEMS schools which is an organisation that cops its fair share of criticism for being profit oriented. Complaints usually come from teachers annoyed with the work conditions and poor salaries, or parents when GEMS threaten to hike the school fees substantially - they tried last year but got smacked down by the Ministry of Education I think. There's a topic in here somewhere.

Location of the school isn't great. And traffic in Dubai is a pain. If you live near the school, you'll suffer through traffic to go to the beach, shopping malls, nightlife. Although there are some facilities in the Garhood area nearby. If you don't live near the school, you'll hate being stuck in traffic for a couple of hours every day.

Someone else posted here who said they were a teacher at the Sheffield school. You could try sending them a PM (Private Message), or an email if their email address is showing. It was this topic about interschool sports with Sheffield.

Also try expatgossip.com, expatwoman.com except they're more parent oriented but you might find some useful feedback. I just searched eslcafe.com but didn't find anything there. There's also a busy forum at britishexpats.com that might help.

[TeacherBeth]

Hiya,

I'm in the same position as you...looking for a teaching job for next year. I've found the site internationalschoolsreview.com to be invaluable! You do have to pay about 30 US dollars to join but it has steered me clear already of some schools with very pretty web sites. This is what someone posted about Sheffield.

Academic integrity of school 1
Effectiveness of administration 2
Academic and disciplinary support provided 2
Director's involvement in academics 1
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 1
School has adequate educational materials on hand 4
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 7
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 1
Satisfaction with housing 1
Community offers a variety of activities 9
Availability and quality of local health care 6
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 3
Extra curricular load is reasonable 1


Comments: Comments are very similar to those on The Cambridge School, Doha. Managed by the same company (GEMS), but privately owned, the treatment of staff is very different from the promises made during interview and on appointment.

The visa run here has to be made every 3 months; and obtaining a work permit and visa can take up to a year, if you survive in the job that long. Of the initial 12 appointments (including the principal), only 4 teachers were still in post at the start of the 2nd academic year - and one of them left in the October. There was no staffing structure in place; no assistant principal/deputy head/senior management team. The school opened initially without licence and did not follow the Ministry of Education's rules for at least the first academic year. Accommodation allowances fell well below a reasonable level as housing has increased dramatically and no extra allowance was made for this. Staff were left to find their own accommodation and furniture.

Advertised as a British Curriculum school, there were no curriculum documents or resources available on opening. Promises of native English speaking pupils and staff were soon shattered as they became too costly. Support staff were housed on the premises to save money. Staff were given no support from the management company and neither GEMS nor the owner had any interest in education, other than making money from it. On termination, contracts were not honored and recriminations from the school's side bitter.

Dubai itself is an interesting place with many leisure activities available; a multitude of eating places and very safe. However, be aware that working there is very different from holidaying there; and working for this company has many draw backs which are echoed in other reports on this web site

Now keep iin mind that is just one review but it's a starting point. Hope that helps!!

Beth

[shawarma]

Thanks for the review Beth . Looks like useful information.

[emmac27]

Does anyone have any up to date information about Sheffield Private School? I have been offered a job there for Septmeber and am curious to know more about the school before signing a contract.

[shawarma]

Hello emmac and welcome to the Dubai forums . Here's the general Sheffield Private School information. There's also another topic about SPS (TSPS?) from someone who got a teaching job there last year ... (you could try sending them a PM, even if they don't check the forum, they should get an automatic email letting them know).

Sheffield School Dubai teaching job