Abu Dhabi Outlines 'Prohibited Behaviours' For Teachers As New School Code Rolls Out

Abu Dhabi has rolled out a new Code of Professional Ethics for teachers, outlining several prohibited behaviours to ensure ethical conduct in schools .

The code aims to protect students, staff, and the wider school community while fostering respect, integrity, and professionalism across all educational settings .

Non-compliance can carry serious legal and administrative consequences for schools.

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Some of the prohibited behaviours include:

• Discrimination or harassment against school community members or the wider community on the basis of religion, ethnicity, origin, social status, age, or gender. Treating all students and colleagues equitably.

• Discriminating against female employees who are expecting or have recently given birth.

• Engaging in indoctrination , promoting extremism, racism, bullying, or any other form of discrimination.

• Wearing immodest clothing or attire considered culturally inappropriate and in violation of school dress codes.

• Conduct contradicting the professional and ethical charter of education employees.

• Verbal or physical harassment of colleagues.

• Spreading false rumours or damaging a colleague's reputation.

• Disclosing confidential information belonging to others.

• Deliberately excluding colleagues from work-related activities or professional information.

• Falsifying or misrepresenting professional qualifications or work experience.

• Celebrating and honouring UAE national identity and cultural values in order to promote the UAE national identity and cultural values.

• Exhibiting respect for individuals of different religious, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi schools are stepping up efforts to embed ethical conduct into every facet of teaching.

Jan Stipek, Principal of Raha International School, highlighted how these principles are woven into daily school life.

“We place the highest importance on professionalism, which for us extends well beyond the classroom. We look not only at the quality of teaching, but also at communication, conduct and ethical standards. The process begins at recruitment, where interview questions explore areas set out in the UAE Code of Professional Ethics, including collaboration with colleagues, championing wellbeing, and respecting diversity, cultural values and national identity. These qualities are particularly important in a school with a significant Emirati population and a truly multicultural community.

“The conversation does not stop at recruitment. The code of ethics is reinforced during onboarding and in our all-staff orientation week at the start of each academic year. Most importantly, it is something we expect to see lived out day to day in the actions of every member of staff.”

School leaders emphasised that staff must demonstrate integrity, respect, neutrality, and ethical conduct not just in classrooms, but also in interactions with colleagues, parents, and the wider community.

The Code of Professional Ethics is intended to establish consistent principles guiding professional behaviour and to provide a strong foundation for ethical practice across ADEK-regulated institutions.

Anila Anand, HR Manager at Shining Star International School, detailed how the school actively reinforces these standards.

“We foster collaboration through mentorship programs, peer-observations, and structured SLT/HOD (Senior Leadership Team) support. We conduct cross departmental engagement programmes and town hall meetings to strengthen team spirit and peer relationships.

“All staff sign Ministry of Education (MoE) and ADEK Code of Conduct. Policy acknowledgment and compliance briefings are in place. We spread awareness on responsible use of policy. CPD (continuing professional development) on digital safety, plagiarism prevention and cyberbullying. Robust safeguarding, child protection, and staff wellbeing policies ensure safe spaces, mandatory reporting, and immediate escalation protocols.”

Institutions have also created standard operating procedure (SOPs) for breach of policy.

Principal Abhilasha Singh added that regular training and monitoring are key to maintaining compliance.“All staff sign the Code of Conduct during induction and attend annual refresher workshops during non-instructional working day (NIWD) days. Continuous CPD, scenario-based sessions, and mentoring by HODs and SLT ensure that staff understand and apply the standards. HR and wellbeing committees also provide ongoing guidance," she noted.

“We have dedicated Wednesdays for CPDs as well. Accountability metrics under staff performance management also cover points related to code of conduct. Compliance is monitored through observations, appraisals, feedback, and safeguarding audits. We have established clear SOPs for reporting, investigating and resolving any breach.”

“Breaches are investigated by ethics and safeguarding leads, with corrective measures ranging from counselling and retraining to formal disciplinary action. Serious violations are escalated to ADEK as required and taken measures as mentioned under ADEK and schools' internal policy,” added Singh.

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