The start of a new school year always brings a buzz of energy. There’s excitement, hope, and a fresh sense of possibility. Staff orientation and inset days are packed with essential info, new initiatives, and plenty of opportunities to build relationships and get ready for the students’ return. It’s also a crucial time to help new staff, whether they’re new to the school or the UAE, settle in, feel part of the community, and get set up to thrive.

Once the students arrive, the focus shifts to making sure everyone feels safe, supported, and ready to dive into the year ahead. Creating a strong sense of belonging in the classroom helps keep motivation high, encourages a positive attitude toward learning, and unlocks the potential for great outcomes.

All this feeds into one key ingredient: engagement; for both teachers and students.

Understanding Staff Engagement

Even though there’s no single definition of workplace engagement, William Kahn’s early work described it as bringing your best self to work, which stems from feeling safe and having a sense of belonging. Over time, this idea has grown to include how employees feel about their workplace, their colleagues, leadership, and how they’re recognized. So, while the start of the year builds a great foundation of collective purpose, it’s just as important to keep that momentum going if schools want to retain their best people.

Teacher Mobility, Retention, and Career Growth

Over the past five years, the UAE has seen a 16% increase in both schools and staff, as reported by ISC Research in their 2024-2025 UAE Market Intelligence Survey. That means lots of opportunities for teachers to move around. So how do you keep your team engaged and committed to your school? It starts with understanding how engaged your staff really are and where to focus your efforts. Leadership plays a big role here. Teachers who feel supported and aligned with the school’s long-term vision are more likely to stay. Interestingly, senior leaders tend to report higher engagement levels than other staff, which is something to keep in mind when looking at engagement across the board.

Professional development is another big factor. An ISC Research Visual Report found that 84% of staff plan to leave their current roles for career growth. With international schools seeing annual turnover rates of 15–25%, knowing whether your staff are engaged or thinking about leaving can make a huge difference in your recruitment strategy. While fresh faces can bring new ideas, high retention helps build long-term consistency and deeper implementation of your school’s vision.

Why Teacher Retention Matters for Student Engagement

Continuity among staff also impacts students. When teachers stay at the school, they build stronger relationships with students, which helps students feel safe and supported. That sense of belonging directly affects student engagement, which shows up in three ways: behavioural, emotional, and cognitive. And yes, research also links student engagement to academic success.

While schools often have tools and strategies to monitor outcomes, wellbeing, and other areas individually, focusing on engagement as a whole gives leaders a deeper understanding of how to support students and make meaningful improvements.

Engagement in a Growing UAE Education Landscape

In the UAE, student numbers have grown by 21% over the past five years, and with that growth comes more multilingual learners. Supporting these students is key, as multilingualism has also been shown to influence engagement.

In a fast-moving education landscape like the UAE, happy, supported teachers who believe in their school’s leadership are more likely to be engaged and more likely to stay. For students, school can be a place of constant change: new countries, new schools, new friends, new teachers. Tracking engagement gives schools a measurable way to respond to these changes and keep both staff and students thriving.

To better understand staff and student engagement in your school, consider joining the UAE pilot of The Engagement Platform (TEP) – the UK’s leading measurement tool for engagement. Find out how it can support your school’s growth here.

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