Shadow teacher at home · Dubai
A shadow teacher at home, or in class and at home.
One-to-one support that carries on after the school day, from the same specialist where your child's school agrees.
Home shadow teacher in Dubai, at a glance
Updated
- What it is
- A shadow teacher who works with your child at home, which in the UAE is the role often called a SEN governess.
- School and home
- One specialist can support your child in class and at home when the school agrees, and we coordinate that with the SENCO.
- In Dubai schools
- Private schools in Dubai are regulated by KHDA, and an outside specialist works in class only with the school's agreement.
- Classroom only?
- Support in school hours alone is our LSA and shadow teacher service, which is priced separately.
Why the search says 'at home'
The school day ends. The need does not.
A shadow teacher in the UAE usually means classroom support: a trained specialist beside your child during lessons, working to the school's plan. When parents search for a shadow teacher at home, they have usually noticed that the hardest part of the day is not the lesson at all. It is the stretch from pick-up to bedtime, where the strategies that held in class have nobody to carry them.
The role that covers those hours is the one this market calls a SEN governess: the same training as a classroom shadow teacher, working in your home to a written plan. Homework, the routine, communication, behaviour and independence are all part of it, and on a managed placement a clinical lead writes the plan and reads the records.
The strongest version is often one specialist for both settings. The person who sat beside your child at ten in the morning knows what went wrong at lunch and what to try at five. It needs the school's agreement, and in Dubai, where private schools answer to KHDA, we hold that conversation with the SENCO directly instead of asking you to broker it.
Four arrangements
Which one fits your child's week?
Home only
Your child manages in class with the school's own support, but afternoons, homework and evenings unravel. A specialist after school, working to a written plan, is the right size of help.
Classroom only
The difficulty is mainly in lessons and home is coping. That is our LSA and shadow teacher service, in school hours, with its own pricing.
School plus home, one specialist
The same person in class and at home, so strategies, language and expectations do not change at the school gate. It needs the school's agreement, which we arrange with the SENCO.
Full days at home
For a child not yet in school, between places or on a reduced timetable, the specialist carries the whole day, learning included.
When one person covers both
What school-plus-home gives your child.
One set of strategies
Your child hears the same prompts and the same rules at the desk and at the dinner table, rather than learning that each adult works differently.
A same-day picture
You hear what happened in class from the person who was there, not from a note in a bag, and the afternoon can respond to the morning.
Homework that matches the lesson
The specialist knows what was taught and how your child coped with it, so practice at home picks up where class left off.
A clear line to the SENCO
The school's inclusion team has one person to talk to about your child, and the plan stays aligned with the school's own targets.
How it starts
From a first message to the first session.
- Step 1
Tell us about the school day and the evening
Where your child struggles, what the school already provides, and which hours at home are hardest.
- Step 2
We speak to the school
With your permission, we contact the SENCO about a specialist in class and agree how those hours fit alongside the school's own plan.
- Step 3
One plan for both settings
A clinical lead sets the goals from the school's targets and what you see at home, so the specialist carries one plan rather than two.
- Step 4
Briefed, then started
The specialist reads the plan and speaks to the clinical lead before meeting your child, then starts in the settings you and the school have agreed.
Two ways to arrange it
We employ her, or you do.
We employ and supervise her
The specialist stays on our books. A clinical lead writes the plan, reviews it, and changes it as your child progresses — and if the placement stops working, we replace her.
AED 15,000–30,000/mo, plus AED 1,999 to start the search
Families who want the plan and the accountability carried for them.
You employ her
We run the search, screen, interview and reference the candidates, and you hire the one you choose onto your own arrangement. One fee, once, and no ongoing relationship with us unless you want one.
AED 1,499 to open the search; the placement fee is one month of the candidate's agreed gross salary
Families who are happy to manage the role themselves.
More on SEN governess support
Related pages.
SEN governess
A trained specialist for your child at home, to a written plan.
Read moreLSA and shadow teachers
One-to-one classroom support, briefed and supervised.
Read moreManaged LSA
We employ, brief and supervise your child's classroom support.
Read moreHome tutoring
One-to-one tutoring for learning differences.
Read moreADHD support
Structure, routine and classroom support for children with ADHD.
Read moreSEN homeschooling support
A governess to carry the learning plan for a child who is out of school or part-time.
Read moreFrequently asked
Questions families ask.
- Is a home shadow teacher the same as a SEN governess?
- In practice, yes. 'Shadow teacher at home' and 'SEN governess' describe the same role: a specialist trained in special educational needs, working one-to-one with your child at home to a written plan. 'Shadow teacher' on its own usually means the classroom version of the same job.
- Does the school have to approve a shadow teacher who also works at home?
- The home hours are your family's arrangement. The classroom hours are not: an outside specialist supports your child in class only with the school's agreement, and we coordinate that with the SENCO or inclusion lead. Some schools have their own process for approving an external specialist, and we work through it with them.
- Our school says our child needs a shadow teacher. Where do we start?
- Ask the school what evidence led to the recommendation and what it expects the role to cover, and read our guide to KHDA's shadow teacher policy before agreeing to any fees. Then tell us about both the school day and the evenings. If the classroom is the only problem, our LSA service is the fit; if home is struggling too, one specialist for both is worth considering.
- Can the same person cover school hours and the afternoon every day?
- Yes, where the school agrees and the total hours are workable for the specialist. The full schedule, including school hours, home hours and any days that differ, is agreed in writing before the placement starts. Long days are demanding, so we match with the whole week in mind, not only your child.
- What does a home shadow teacher do after school?
- Homework in short, planned sessions; the routine from pick-up to bedtime; practice of the communication and social skills the plan targets; and the behaviour strategies, recorded so the clinical lead can see what is working. Where school and home share a specialist, the afternoon can follow up on whatever happened in class that day.
- How is home support priced compared with a classroom LSA?
- Support at home, including school-plus-home, is arranged as a SEN governess placement: AED 15,000–30,000/mo managed, with AED 1,999 to open the search. Classroom-only support in school hours is our LSA and shadow teacher service, with its own pricing on that page. If you would rather employ the specialist yourself, direct hire is AED 1,499 to open the search and one month of the candidate's agreed gross salary.
- What if the school will not agree to an outside specialist in class?
- Then the home hours can still go ahead, with the specialist working from the school's targets and whatever the school is willing to share. We will ask what support the school provides itself and shape the home plan to complement it. A school's decision about its own classroom is the school's to make, and we respect it rather than work around it.
- Is a home shadow teacher useful for a child with ADHD or dyslexia?
- Often, particularly where homework is the flashpoint. For ADHD the work is structure, short blocks and managed transitions; for dyslexia and other learning differences it is planned, patient practice of the skills school is teaching, at your child's pace. Where the need is purely academic, one-to-one tutoring may suit better, and we will say so.
Further reading
Guides for this decision.
Guides
KHDA's shadow teacher policy: what Dubai parents need to know
What KHDA actually requires of Dubai private schools before they ask a family to fund a shadow teacher, and the questions worth asking.
Guides
SEN governess and school: how to make them work together
How a SEN governess and your child's school can coordinate on homework, the SENCO, shared targets and school-plus-home support, with the school's agreement.
Guides
SEN governess, nanny, shadow teacher or tutor: which one do you actually need?
Four roles families are routinely told are the same thing, what each is trained to do, and how to tell which your child needs.
ADHD
A SEN governess for a child with ADHD
What one-to-one home support does for a child with ADHD: structure, transitions, homework and regulation, and what to expect.
Guides
Choosing between home, school and centre-based therapy
How to decide which setting works best for your child's therapy — home, school, or a dedicated centre.
Tell us about your child.
A conversation first, on WhatsApp or by phone. No obligation, and a straight answer if we are not the right fit.