SEN governess · Abu Dhabi & Al Ain
A SEN governess in Abu Dhabi, from the capital to Al Ain.
A trained specialist for your child at home in Abu Dhabi or Al Ain, working to a plan our clinical team writes and reviews.
SEN governess in Abu Dhabi, at a glance
Updated
- Where
- Homes across Abu Dhabi city, its mainland communities and Al Ain, and the schools those children attend.
- Schools
- Where the role reaches into the classroom, we agree it with your child's ADEK-regulated school through its inclusion team.
- Supervision
- Abu Dhabi placements are supervised by the same clinical team that supervises our Dubai placements.
- Managed fee
- AED 15,000–30,000/mo, the same published range as every other emirate, with AED 1,999 to open the search.
Abu Dhabi, specifically
The same role, a different map.
The job does not change at the emirate border. A SEN governess in Abu Dhabi works one-to-one with your child, mostly at home, carrying the learning, the routine and the behaviour plan through the day. What changes is everything around the job: the school regulator, the distances between home, school and therapy, and how narrow the match becomes once those are written into the brief.
Distance matters more here than most families expect. Abu Dhabi island, the communities on the mainland and Al Ain sit a long way apart, and a specialist who has to cross the emirate twice a day is a placement under strain from the first week. So we match on where the specialist is based as well as on your child's needs, the hours and the languages spoken at home. A narrow brief takes longer to fill, which is why we suggest starting before the term you need support for rather than during it.
Private schools in Abu Dhabi are regulated by ADEK, and many families want the same person in class and at home. That is possible when the school agrees, and we hold that conversation with the school's inclusion team ourselves. Supervision comes from the clinical team that supervises our Dubai placements, so an Abu Dhabi family is not getting a lighter version of the service.
What the brief has to cover
Five things we ask an Abu Dhabi family first.
Where home is, and where school is
Island, mainland or Al Ain, and how far apart home, school and any therapy sessions are. It decides who can realistically take the role.
The languages at home
Arabic, English, both, or another language entirely. Our specialists between them speak English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog, French and Russian among others, and for a child still building language the match matters more than almost anything else.
Whether school is part of the role
If the specialist is to support your child in class as well, the school has to agree. We raise it with the inclusion team at your child's ADEK-regulated school rather than leaving it to you.
The hours that actually need covering
After school, full days for a child not yet in school or on a reduced timetable, or school-plus-home. The hours are agreed in writing before anyone starts.
What is already in place
Therapy, a behaviour plan, a school IEP. The governess carries what is already there between sessions rather than replacing the people who wrote it.
Why it is the same team
One clinical standard, wherever in the emirate you live.
The plan comes before the match
A clinical lead sets your child's goals first, so the specialist is chosen to deliver a plan rather than to improvise one.
Reviewed by the team that reviews Dubai
Records are read and the plan is adjusted by the same clinical team that supervises our Dubai placements. Living in Abu Dhabi does not move you down a list.
Replaced if it is not working
On a managed placement, a placement that stops working is ours to fix: we review it, adjust it, and replace the specialist if that is the answer.
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 moreSupport in Abu Dhabi
Everything we offer families in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
Read moreSEN governess across the UAE
Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah, under the same clinical team.
Read moreHome shadow teacher in Dubai
One-to-one support at home, or one specialist across the classroom and the afternoon.
Read moreLSA and shadow teachers
One-to-one classroom support, briefed and supervised.
Read moreAssessment
A behavioural and educational assessment, then a clear recommendation.
Read moreFrequently asked
Questions families ask.
- Do you place SEN governesses in Al Ain?
- Yes. Al Ain is a different search from Abu Dhabi city, because the specialists who can realistically reach a family there are different. Tell us at the start that you are in Al Ain, so the search begins with specialists who can actually get to you.
- Can the governess support my child at an ADEK school?
- Often, but it is the school's decision. ADEK-regulated schools have their own inclusion teams, and an outside specialist works in the classroom only with the school's agreement. We coordinate that with the SENCO or inclusion lead directly, and once it is agreed the same person can carry the strategies from the classroom into the afternoon at home.
- Is the service in Abu Dhabi the same as in Dubai?
- The role, the written plan, the clinical supervision and the published fees are the same. What differs is practical: the school regulator is ADEK rather than KHDA, the distances are longer, and the match has to account for where the specialist is based. We would rather tell you a narrow brief will take time than send someone who nearly fits.
- How far ahead should we start looking in Abu Dhabi?
- Earlier than you might think, especially if you need a particular language, particular hours or a particular set of skills. A straightforward brief can move in days, while a narrow one takes longer. If you need someone for the start of a term, talk to us well before it rather than in the first week.
- We speak Arabic at home. Can you match that?
- Arabic is one of the languages our specialists cover, alongside English and several others. Tell us exactly what is spoken at home and by whom, because a child who hears Arabic from family and English at school may need a specialist comfortable in both. For a child with a communication delay, it is one of the most important lines on the brief.
- Where are your offices?
- We are headquartered in Ras Al Khaimah, with a Dubai branch in Al Khawaneej. The work itself happens in your home and at your child's school, and Abu Dhabi is one of the two emirates, with Dubai, where our network of specialists is deepest.
- What does a SEN governess cost in Abu Dhabi?
- A managed placement, where we employ and supervise the specialist, is AED 15,000–30,000/mo, with AED 1,999 to open the search. Where a family sits in that range reflects the hours, the complexity of the child's needs and the languages required. Direct hire, where you employ the specialist yourself, is AED 1,499 to open the search and a placement fee of one month of the candidate's agreed gross salary. What the specialist earns is a separate question that depends on experience, hours and the household.
- Will the governess work with my child's therapists in Abu Dhabi?
- Yes. Talking to your child's therapists and school is part of the role, so the same strategies run in the session, the classroom and the living room. The governess carries what is learned in therapy into the rest of the day; the therapy itself stays with the therapist.
Further reading
Guides for this decision.
Guides
Finding a SEN governess in Abu Dhabi
How one-to-one home support works for families in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and what is different from Dubai.
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
How to hire a SEN governess in the UAE: the checklist
References, trials, contracts and the questions that separate a good placement from an expensive one — the process we would use ourselves.
Guides
What qualifications should a SEN governess have?
The training, credentials and experience that matter for one-to-one home support — and the ones that look good on a CV and tell you little.
Guides
The first month with a SEN governess: what to expect, week by week
Week by week through the first month of a SEN governess placement: the briefing, settling in, building the routine and the first review of the plan.
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.