URStrong
A students’ sense of school belonging has emerged in education research as a core factor influencing learning and wellbeing. When a student feels that they have good relationships at school they have better psychological functioning, higher self-esteem, stronger self-identity and greater resilience – all of which support more effective learning (Waters, 2022).
At AIS we believe it is just as important to explicitly teach students how to create and sustain healthy friendships as it is to read and write. Given this, in 2021 AIS became one of the first URStrong schools in the UAE.
URSTRONG is a whole-school friendship strategy that empowers children with friendship skills to create communities of kindness. From Prep, our students are explicitly taught how to develop healthy friendships and respectfully manage conflict. We believe this is the key to creating safe, caring learning environments and inspiring kinder, happier children.
Parents can learn more about the URSTRONG program on their website.
