Schooling in Dubai
 

I have been approached by work about the possibility of relocating to Dubai in the near future. Since then I have been doing a lot of reading through the threads on here and have done all of my calcs based on the is it worth it spreadsheet just to get a rough idea.

The only real issue I have found with the possible move is the schooling of the children and the fees associated with this. If the fees were at the lower end it would be worth it financially, if they were at the higher end of the scale then we would be in the same position financially as we are here.

We have triplets who are all autistic so would need special educational needs teaching and support. There are several specialist secondary schools that offer special educational needs and the fees for these range from 30,000 to 70,000 AED. I cannot find any information on mainstream schools that offer special educational needs support to pupils as this would be where they would need to go to make it financially viable as the fees are much lower. I am also struggling to find any sort of reviews for any of the schools. I have been looking at this http://www.dubaifaqs.com/schools-dubai.php but would appreciate some feedback from anyone has any first-hand experience.

Re: Schooling in Dubai
 

I don't have first hand experience but I know someone whose son is autistic. They had a big problem getting him a place in a mainstream school and are paying an average of AED 8,000 per month in additional therapy and tutoring.

Whilst the situation is better than it was years ago, a child who requires additional support is going to cost you more money, in addition to the standard school fees. If you employer is not covering the school fees the move may be a non-starter, both financially and for your children's benefit.

I understand that Horizon school is accommodating to children with additional needs, so you may want to contact them and see what they say.

Sorry to be negative, but best that you hear the truth now rather than make a move you might regret.

Good luck.

Re: Schooling in Dubai
 

Employer will cover some of the school fees, minimum they cover is 22,000AED per child, per year. I thought it might be the case that you would have to pay for any additional help within a mainstream setting. Will have to look at getting them in one of the 4 secondary special needs schools available. Squeeze my employer for a better package

Re: Schooling in Dubai
 

I have a friend that deals in Autism in the Dubai. I have spoken to her and she said it is unlikely that any mainstream school will take a child with autism. They are not setup to deal with them.

Horizon may take some kids with autism, but only high functioning kids. She reckons that special needs schools will only take kids with general disabilities and not autism.



Good luck

Re: Schooling in Dubai
 

I would think long and hard before moving over here, they are not very good at working with kids who are different.