Nadeen School fosters innovation by prioritizing a strong sense of belonging and creating supportive learning spaces for all students, including neurodivergent learners. Through its Work-Learn-Flourish approach, Nadeen encourages confident, ambitious problem-solvers ready to thrive.
Please share a brief background of your innovation.
We believe that creative thinkers and enterprising learners who aim high can change the world. We want our learners to be bold and ambitious problem solvers focused on improvement. We empower all our learners to be innovative and unconstrained. We create environments for learning that inspire the process of learning and achieving. Our pedagogical approach is enriched by our Nadeen Lens and by being a High-performance Learning School, we celebrate and nurture new ideas! Our Work-Learn-Flourish (WoLF) approach to learning means we are committed to supporting every learner, to learn, flourish and grow at Nadeen. To do this, we learn from our school mascot – the wolf and its pack. Belonging is our highest priority because when learners feel that they belong, they can begin to flourish and grow. We have created caring and supportive systems to ensure this value of belonging is at the heart of everything we do at Nadeen. We value neurodiversity and view being neurodivergent through a strength-based lens. This means we can support diverse learners, including those with more complex needs. To do this, we have created different environments to ensure our learners feel their needs are met and they can confidently express themselves. These carefully planned environments include sensory learning spaces and calm spaces with specialized lighting for learners who need a break from the busier environments. We have incorporated movement spaces for those who need a movement break. Our learners benefit from quieter self-directed learning spaces when they find the classroom overstimulating, where they can take some time to work on their projects of interest. Our THRIVE curriculum is for those learners with more complex needs. It is led by expert teachers who create personalized timetables that enable success. Our approach to behaviour for learning is guided by the most up-to-date neuroscience. At Nadeen, we guide our educators to understand human behaviour and the interconnectedness of our nervous system. We believe that a sense of belonging creates a calm nervous system. When a learner’s nervous system is calm their pre-frontal cortex is at its most optimal to Work, Learn, Flourish (WoLF). By having the above environments, our learners can always find the opportunities they need to bring their brain and body back to its optimal learning state. We can only change the world if we can think about how to change it! At Nadeen, we believe thriving is the gateway to thinking.
How was the innovation planned?
Nadeen has always considered itself a leading school for creating a neuro-inclusive environment where all can thrive. The new campus provided a welcomed springboard to drive this innovation forward. With new spaces, came innovation from the thoughtful and creative educators at Nadeen. The first stage of planning began in 2023 when the new campus was opened, and we decided to create a space for movement and a space for calm for some of our learners who needed this additional provision. Following the success of this, staff training was implemented on understanding our nervous systems and the different needs that may impact our nervous system responses. Staff are gaining confidence and feel empowered to take this further. Fast forward one year and we now have more spaces and we can create environments where everyone can belong and thrive.
What were the challenges faced during implementation?
Resourcing the spaces was a challenge. Some materials were easily sourced locally such as lighting and furnishing but for some items, we needed more specialized suppliers. The resourcing of the spaces is an ongoing process because we are continually adapting to meet the needs of our different learners. This innovation has changed our admissions process and we have had to work at speed to create policies that match how we are now working with our learners. Staff training is a fundamental aspect of this innovation and this will be an ongoing process as we continue to develop our understanding of neuroscience and how this impacts our understanding of neurodiversity and enabling belonging for all.
Give us a brief assessment of your results.
The results so far are very anecdotal due to the nature of the work we are doing. This innovation lies at the human level and we will need to develop a way of assessing the impact of this moving forward. In the meantime, we meet regularly to discuss the learners and the progress in their sense of belonging. It will be really interesting to see our mid-year and end-of-year academic assessment data for 2025 to see the impact over time in comparison to our baseline data for this year. However, the community feedback provides us with anecdotal information to know and understand we are doing something important here in Bahrain. Parents’ comments such as ‘Thank you for what you are doing for my child. She was admitted to previous schools but at Nadeen, she belongs and has a real community!’ and ‘My son is now wanting to come to school. He feels safe and connected. He knows he can take a break if he feels overwhelmed. What you are doing at Nadeen is special and it is making a difference to his confidence!’ are very encouraging.
In hindsight, what were the most valuable lessons learned while implementing the innovation? Could things have been done differently?
Although we have come really this far, it feels like we are only at the beginning of this journey. Every day, we make plans for the future of Nadeen about how we can make our environments and learning experiences even more inclusive. We already have plans for a complete re-design of the spaces using more specialized equipment and we are currently working on an innovative technology proposal to enhance everything that we are doing. The most valuable lesson is ensuring we are continually evaluating through our process of plan, do, and review. This simple process of plan, do, review has enabled us to move quickly and innovate together for our future plans.
Is your institution’s information current and accurate? Keep your details up-to-date to boost visibility and connect with prospective students.
Click the link below to add/request an update to your profile
Add/Request