As Dubai British School Mira opens its doors, Founding Principal Amy Falhi shares how integrity, compassion, community, curiosity, and excellence will shape every aspect of school life. From building strong local connections to embedding wellbeing into daily routines, her vision is to create a thriving environment where students, staff, and families feel truly valued and inspired.
In this interview with Education UAE, she shares how these values will be brought to life from day one.
Education UAE: As Founding Principal, how do you plan to foster a strong sense of community both within the school and with the wider local community at DBS Mira?
The majority of our families are coming to us from the Mira/ Mira Oasis/ Town Square and Cherrywoods communities, so becoming a hub of the community is really important to us. We have engaged with families through regular webinars as part of the set up, and have plans to create a Community Committee who will be a core group of parents and staff who focus on bringing the community together. Connections are so important when building community, and so we hope to create lots of opportunities for people to connect- staff, parents and children!
Education UAE: Integrity is a core value at DBS Mira. How do you intend to lead by example and ensure integrity is reflected in every aspect of school life?
Authenticity in leadership is paramount. I believe that we should create spaces where people feel safe to be themselves, and hold ourselves and each other to account when it comes to living and breathing our values. In leadership, you hear lots of differing opinions across a broad range of topics, and so I believe in having the strength of character to make decisions based not on what is the easiest route, or even the route that will ‘please’ the most people, but that is right. Demonstrating integrity, especially in difficult times, fosters trust, and this only serves to strengthen the community.
Education UAE: How do you plan to create a compassionate environment at DBS Mira that supports the well-being of students, staff, and families?
We believe in taking wellbeing beyond the tokenistic ‘donut days’ to focus on ensuring human-centred approaches through everything we do. We will seek to understand how people think and feel and model deep care through our all interactions. We know that we will face challenging situations and conversations, but will assume positive intent when supporting those around us.
Education UAE: How will you encourage curiosity and a passion for learning among both students and staff at DBS Mira?
George Stokes, Head of Primary, has designed a curriculum with the Primary team that centres around Project Based Learning. This approach will enable children to explore key questions and themes in a practical, interdisciplinary way, enabling them to be pioneers of their own learning.
We actively encourage our community to ask questions- big and small- and will endeavour to answer them as fully as possible. Community voice opportunities will enable us to gather feedback on our approaches and to shape the direction of the school based on the interests of the staff, students and parents.
Education UAE: DBS Mira aims to be a beacon of excellence in education. What steps will you take to ensure that excellence is embedded in both academic performance and the holistic development of students?
Our guiding philosophy across the DBS Schools is Enjoy, Aspire, Achieve: the word ‘enjoy’ is first for a reason as we understand that children must be happy at school first in order to succeed.
We have created a DBS Teaching and Learning Identity to give teachers a guiding structure of best practice for their lessons whilst allowing room for creativity and flexibility in the planning and delivery process.
Our parent-partnerships will be crucial to ensure children are surrounding by the support they need and that parents feel fully informed of their children progress and how they can help at home.
Finally, we will work with our sister schools across the group to make sure our standards align and that we are delivering the same level of excellence that all children deserve.
Education UAE: How does your leadership style reflect these values, and how have they shaped your approach to education in both the UK and UAE?
I have a very authentic leadership style and believe in the power of transparency. I hold myself to account (and ask others to do the same!) through decision making and actions, to ensure everything we do is rooted in our values and in the best interests of the community. I believe it is important to listen to others as a leader, and that this in turn shows people they are valued. By working together, we can create school communities that are truly special.
Education UAE: What specific strategies will you employ to build and sustain a school culture that upholds these values consistently, day in and day out?
The leadership team and I will be very active and visible; it is important to be present for the day-to-day running of the school to see the values in action, and identify where there may be gaps. We will operate with a reflective approach, making changes as needed to keep closely aligned to the core values. Seeking feedback from the community – staff, students and parents- will also be imperative when embedding and sustaining our school culture; everyone needs to believe in it, see it and, most importantly, feel it.
Education UAE: As you embark on the journey of leading DBS Mira, what are your most immediate priorities, and how do these connect to the school’s values?
The first priority will be connecting with the community- getting to know everyone and allowing them to get to know me. I also recognise how important it is to earn the trust of the community, and so acting with integrity and showing genuine compassion from day one will be key.
Education UAE: How do you plan to measure the success of these values in action, and what tangible outcomes will you use to gauge progress?
We will hold regular points of review where we can determine how impactful each of the values are using qualitative measures: what we observe ourselves and what we hear through the feedback we receive. Creating a community where people are happy and feel valued will be true measure of success for me; once that is in place, everything else will follow.
Education UAE: How do you plan to involve the wider DBS community – students, parents, and staff in upholding these values, ensuring that the entire school is aligned in purpose and action?
To be successful, the values have to be upheld by everyone- they cannot be championed by one person alone. However, in order to do this, everyone must understand the values and what they mean in action. We have already weaved our values into everything we have done- from recruitment to parent webinars to curriculum design- they are everywhere! Our strategic planning is tightly aligned with the values to make sure they become truly embedded in the life and soul of the school.
To learn more about DBS Mira, visit their website below: