Evidence Based Education to deliver training to 23,000 teachers in UAE

A North East organisation that delivers online training to teachers and schools is expanding into the United Arab Emirates.

Evidence Based Education (EBE), based in Sunderland, has been awarded a contract by Emirates Schools Establishment to deliver training to 23,000 teachers in the UAE over the next two years.

The contract will see EBE translate courses from its popular Great Teaching Toolkit into Arabic, helping teachers with personalised development pathways for sustainable school and learning improvement.

The toolkit, which is already used by more than 14,000 teachers around the world, helps to improve teaching and learning for the long term by providing access to a suite of evidence-based courses and resources, as well as facilitating coaching and collaboration across teams and schools.

Jack Deverson, director of Evidence Based Education, said: "This is a huge contract win for us that will essentially increase revenue by 50% over the next two years. It will fuel our growth and has already enabled us to create two new jobs.

"We're thrilled to be working with Emirates Schools Establishment to take our school improvement work to the UAE, giving teachers world-leading professional development and helping schools save time and money, while improving teaching and learning. 

"We're currently in the process of working with Arabic speakers and natives to ensure our content translates well, with culturally relevant examples."

EBE's Model for Great Teaching, a summary of the best evidence on classroom practice and a curriculum for teachers' professional learning, has already been translated into multiple languages and is used by schools, universities and faculties around the world as the best of what we know about quality teaching.

Emirates Schools Establishment was founded as a cornerstone of the UAE's commitment to revolutionising the public education sector, working to implement policies, strategies and standards for government schools and nurseries.

Founded in 2015, EBE has grown steadily year on year and is currently made up of 17 employees. The business has been supported by Sunderland City Council's Business Investment Team since moving in 2019 to Grange Crescent in Sunderland city centre.  

Jack added: "Sunderland is a fantastic base for our hybrid team, and we have received such fantastic support from the council ever since we moved to the city. They've been great in enabling us to continue growing."

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "We're delighted to hear of Evidence Based Education's achievement, as they secure this substantial contract that reflects their dedication to teacher development.

"As a council, we take pride in supporting local businesses and we wish Jack and the team all the best as they start work in the UAE and take their courses global."