Alison Lamb’s Vision for Building Resilient and Confident Learners in Modern Education

Edarabia had the opportunity to interview Alison Lamb, Principal of Dubai Heights Academy, to understand how the school is preparing students for an increasingly dynamic and technology-driven world. In this insightful conversation, she highlights the importance of balancing innovation with human values, focusing on adaptability, resilience, and communication as essential life skills. She also shares how the school fosters inclusive learning, strong community partnerships, and responsible digital behaviour, ensuring students are confident, thoughtful, and future-ready individuals.

1. With the UAE making AI a formal subject from Kindergarten to Grade 12 this year, how has your school transitioned from “using AI tools” to “teaching AI” as a core competency?

At Dubai Heights Academy, we have already been on this journey for some time, moving beyond simply using AI tools and towards helping students understand AI as an important part of their learning. Through our partnership with MIT Media Lab, students explore not only what AI can do, but also how it works, how decisions are made, where bias can appear, and why ethics and responsibility matter. This develops gradually across the school, from introducing younger children to AI in everyday life and creativity, to older students exploring programming, privacy, rights, social media, and future careers linked to AI. We also take part in MIT’s Day of AI initiative, alongside our own AI Awareness Week, to give students wider exposure to AI through lessons, workshops, and discussion. Our aim is to ensure students are confident, thoughtful, and responsible in how they understand and engage with AI.

2. In light of the 2025 nationwide smartphone ban, how has your school culture shifted? Have you seen a tangible impact on student social interaction and focus?

Our implementation of Yondr pouches supports a focused and distraction free learning environment. By removing mobile phone access during the school day, students are encouraged to engage fully in lessons, interact meaningfully with peers, and develop positive habits around attention, communication, and wellbeing, preparing them for responsible technology use beyond school.

3. How does the school balance the new AI guidelines (such as the ban on GenAI for students under 13) with the need to keep older students competitive and ethically aware?

At Dubai Heights Academy, we see this as being about getting the balance and sequence right. For younger students, the focus is on understanding what AI is, where it appears in everyday life, and why issues such as truth, bias, privacy and safety matter, rather than direct use of generative AI. For older students, we can then introduce more practical and age-appropriate use, alongside discussion about ethics, responsibility and critical thinking.

A key part of making this work is teacher training. Staff need to be confident not only in what the guidance says, but in how to teach AI in a safe, purposeful and age-appropriate way to ensure AI is not used as a shortcut, but as something students learn to question, understand and use well.

Our aim is to protect younger students while making sure older students remain informed, capable and future-ready.

4. How is your school integrating the mandatory national subjects (Arabic, Islamic Studies, and National Identity) to ensure they resonate with a diverse, international student body?

At Dubai Heights Academy, we position national subjects at the heart of identity, values, and belonging within a diverse international community. For example, students engage in projects where they explore UAE heritage, leadership, and societal values, then present their learning through debates, storytelling, and presentations. During Arabic Culture Week, students connect Emirati traditions with their own cultural backgrounds, creating a shared learning experience that celebrates diversity while deepening understanding of the UAE’s identity. This is further enriched through whole-school celebrations such as UAE National Day, Flag Day, and Ramadan initiatives, where students actively participate in cultural activities, performances, and community events. This approach ensures learning is authentic, relevant, and impactful for every student.

5. Beyond academic transcripts, what are the three “non-negotiable” skills you believe a student must graduate with to thrive in the 2030s?

• Adaptability
• Resilience
• Communication

6. With the job market evolving so rapidly, how do you steer students toward adaptability rather than just specific career paths?

All Key Stage 5 students take part in one Future READY Life Skills session per week. This includes sessions on a wide range of skills aimed at preparing them for life after school, e.g. budgeting, DIY, and conflict resolution.

7. How does your school move beyond the “one-size-fits-all” model to ensure that a student’s unique strengths are recognized and nurtured?

All Key Stage 5 students also complete a personal project as part of an Additional Employment Skills Program. This project is personal and allows students to develop skills in areas that are of interest to them.

8. How do you practically teach resilience so that students view rapid global changes as opportunities rather than threats?

We build resilience through everyday learning experiences where students are encouraged to embrace challenge, learn from mistakes, and keep trying. Teachers use consistent language, provide opportunities for safe struggle, and celebrate effort over perfection, helping students develop confidence, independence, and a mindset that sees change as an opportunity.

9. With rising academic pressures, what “boots-on-the-ground” support systems are in place to catch signs of burnout before they become crises?

We take a proactive, everyday approach. Through strong relationships, regular check-ins, and close collaboration between teachers and the wellbeing team, we notice changes early. This allows us to step in quickly with the right support before small concerns become bigger challenges.

10. How is the school evolving its support for “Students of Determination” to ensure they are not just included, but are actively excelling?

As a highly inclusive school every student is a valued member of our community. Our academic pathways and provisions are ever evolving to ensure students experience personal learning success. Our alternative curriculum pathways include life skills programmes such as ASDAN and newly introduced BTEC Level 1s. We have developed work experience partnerships which are tailored to the needs of our Students of Determination to develop life and employability skills. Students of Determination have opportunities to excel representing our school in external events through initiatives such as our Unified Sports Team. They play key roles in a wide range of our community events including our sports teams, musical productions and shows as well as our extra curricular clubs.

11. Beyond preventing cyberbullying, how are you teaching students to curate a “digital footprint” they can be proud of as they enter adulthood?

We take a proactive approach to helping students build a digital footprint they can be proud of. In Computing lessons, children explore what a digital footprint is, how it is created, and the long-term impact it can have on their future. They are regularly reminded about protecting private information and making thoughtful choices about what they share online, including why posting photos or content that could affect their reputation can have lasting consequences.

Beyond preventing negative behaviours, students are encouraged to demonstrate kindness, respect, and responsible online conduct. These messages are reinforced through assemblies, student-led infographics, displays around the school, and everyday classroom activities. At the same time, families are supported through workshops and regular communications, helping ensure that online safety is understood and valued across the whole school community.

Workshops such as Online Safety & Digital Wellbeing – Empowering Students for Digital Safety focus on practical skills, including safe social media use, recognising cyber threats and scams, understanding deepfakes, and the ethical use of AI. Students learn how AI appears in their schoolwork, games, and daily life, and are guided on using it safely, responsibly, and creatively. Understanding concepts such as AI hallucinations further helps them make informed decisions online, while families are empowered to reinforce these messages at home.

Students are shown how their online behaviour can have a lasting impact on real-life outcomes. They understand that their digital footprint can influence university applications, career opportunities, and their wider reputation. By embedding this learning across school life, we support students to grow into responsible, thoughtful, and confident digital citizens.

12. In an era of hybrid initiatives like “Ramadan with the Family,” how has the role of the parent changed in your school’s ecosystem?

In today’s evolving educational landscape, the role of parents has shifted significantly from being observers of learning to becoming active partners in shaping both academic success and students’ social and emotional development. At Dubai Heights Academy, we view parents as co educators who play a vital role in reinforcing values, behaviours, and learning beyond the classroom.

We are proud to have a highly supportive parent community, particularly a group of actively engaged mothers who contribute meaningfully to a wide range of school activities and initiatives. Parents are no longer simply attending events; they are actively shaping them. From participating in Ramadan Iftars and national celebrations to engaging in workshops and reading activities alongside students, their involvement has had a clear and positive impact on students’ confidence, sense of belonging, and engagement. This partnership has gone even further, with many parents expressing a genuine interest in learning Arabic themselves leading the school to introduce dedicated Arabic language sessions for parents, strengthening both connection and cultural understanding.

Through initiatives such as “Ramadan with the Family,” parents and students engage in meaningful shared experiences that promote reflection, empathy, and cultural awareness. These moments extend learning into the home, creating deeper conversations and strengthening students’ sense of identity, responsibility, and belonging.

In addition, through ongoing communication and coffee mornings ( Chai &Chat) , we support parents in guiding their children’s digital behaviour and wellbeing, ensuring consistency between school and home. This strong, collaborative partnership is key to developing socially aware, confident learners who are well prepared to thrive both within and beyond school.

13. How do you ensure your veteran teachers feel empowered—rather than overwhelmed—by the constant influx of new educational technologies and mandates?

We keep it purposeful and manageable. Experienced teachers bring enormous professional wisdom, so our role is not to overwhelm them with every new initiative, but to introduce change thoughtfully. We provide time, support, and professional dialogue so teachers can explore what genuinely enhances learning in their classrooms. Collaboration is key, when teachers share practice and learn from one another, new approaches feel far less like a mandate and much more like professional growth

14. If you could leave one inspiring message or lesson for your school community and the wider world, what would it be?

Stay curious, be kind, and keep growing. None of us ever reaches a point where learning stops. Education isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about having the confidence to keep asking questions and the humility to keep improving. Curiosity and kindness shape the way we work and learn together, growth becomes something we all share.

Curiosity keeps us learning, kindness keeps us connected, and growth keeps us moving forward.