Dubai: New school to invite parents to join kids for lunch in UAE first

A Dubai school will invite parents to eat lunch with their children weekly during their school lunch break after the pandemic triggered isolated breaks for students.

With this initiative, Bloom World Academy will be the first in the UAE to invite parents into the school once a week to share lunchtime with their children.

The school, which will launch by the end of August, hopes the initiative will help to build even stronger relationships with its families and inspire positive change in the education industry after the setback posed by Covid-19.

The school had earlier announced a later start time of 9am.

Founding Principal John Bell said, "We will continually question education traditions at Bloom World Academy, and our lunch break initiatives are just one example of this. Our team of inspiring educators are on a mission to change the face of education and have brought together some of the best practices from around the world and the parent child lunch break was one we absolutely had to implement at the school."

The Principal underlines that the school's ambition to make lunchtime a focal point of the day is driven by the effects of the pandemic-induced home learning and the gap in social development this has caused.

"It is no secret that the pandemic has driven children to experience an isolated lunch break. Children were forced to eat alone for more than two years – this is of course is going to have an impact on their development and social skills. We are a school that is all about community and connection, and that's what we hope to rebuild post-pandemic with our lunch break initiatives."

"Children's lunch breaks are a vital point of the day for them to disconnect from learning and engage with fellow students to develop communication and social skills, so it is important that we make this time a priority."

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He then points out that connection and community amongst its students and their families will be a key focus for the new IB Curriculum school when it welcomes its first cohort of students this academic year.

"The school's lunch break initiatives will also encourage healthy eating, social skill development and welcoming parents to enjoy lunch with their children on a weekly basis will help us to create community cohesion at the school," Bell added.

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