OFFICIAL KHDA GUIDANCE — PUBLISHED APRIL 7, 2026
KHDA has released an official parent guide for distance learning. This is the regulator's clearest statement yet on what parents should and should not be doing during school closures. Read the 11 key takeaways below.
KHDA has published an official Parent Guide to Supporting Your Child During Distance Learning. The core message is unambiguous: parents are not expected to perform the role of teachers. Schools remain responsible for teaching, lesson planning, delivering instruction, monitoring progress, and supporting students. Parents should focus on routines, device access, emotional wellbeing, and communicating with schools early when problems arise. Here are the 11 key takeaways, what schools must do versus what parents should do, and age-by-age guidance from early years to senior school.
Latest Developments
APRIL 7, 2026
KHDA publishes "Parent Guide to Supporting Your Child During Distance Learning." Fatma Belrehif, CEO of the Quality Assurance and Compliance Agency at KHDA, states: "This guide reflects our commitment to supporting parents during distance learning and strengthening the positive partnership between schools and families."
APRIL 7, 2026
KHDA also publishes "Quality Expectations for Effective Distance Learning" — a separate framework for schools covering three core areas: (1) student access, participation, wellbeing, and safeguarding; (2) teaching, learning, assessment, and feedback; (3) leadership, communication, and flexible delivery readiness.
APRIL 2026
Distance learning continues for all private schools, nurseries, and universities in Dubai. Schools wishing to reopen must submit a formal application to KHDA and demonstrate they can meet all safety requirements.
Key Information at a Glance
- Guide name: "Parent Guide to Supporting Your Child During Distance Learning"
- Issued by: Quality Assurance and Compliance Agency at KHDA (April 7, 2026)
- Key message: Parents are NOT expected to perform the role of teachers
- Five priorities: Stay connected to school, support participation, maintain routine, protect wellbeing, communicate early
- Covers: All educational stages — early years through senior school
- Download: Available on the KHDA website (PDF)
The 11 Key Takeaways From KHDA's Guide
Khaleej Times distilled the guide into 11 key takeaways. We have grouped them into three themes — your role, practical logistics, and your child's wellbeing — with our own commentary on what each means in practice.
Your Role as a Parent
1. Focus on five priorities
Stay connected to school, support your child's participation, maintain a routine, protect their wellbeing, and communicate with the school early when problems arise. These five things matter more than anything else.
2. Communicate early — do not wait for problems to escalate
Flag absences, disruptions, travel, distress, connectivity problems, time-zone differences, or any other barrier to learning as soon as they happen. Schools can only help if they know what is going on.
3. Supporting learning is not the same as teaching
You help by making sure devices work, your child can log in, materials are organised, and there is a suitable place to learn. You do not replace the teacher. Schools remain responsible for instruction, planning, and monitoring progress.
4. If time, devices, or adult support are limited — do not chase perfection
Prioritise what is most essential. Identify which child needs the most direct support. Aim for a manageable routine rather than perfect supervision. Tell the school early if access is limited. Progress matters more than perfection.
Practical Logistics
5. Assessments still matter — but pressure should not dominate
Stay updated on any changes to exams and deadlines. Focus on effort and improvement rather than marks alone. For families dealing with cancelled exams, see our guides on UK exam board alternative grading and IB NECM grading.
6. Privacy, cameras, and online safety are part of the picture
Follow your school's guidance on cameras-on policies. Protect personal information. Avoid sharing passwords or recordings. Flag privacy concerns to the school. Keep devices in communal spaces for younger children. More detail on this in the privacy section below.
7. Younger children need more hands-on support
Prepare their device, help with login, guide them through activities, build in frequent breaks, and encourage offline learning — reading, drawing, counting with objects. This is not teaching; it is creating the conditions for learning to happen.
8. Older children still need structure
Do not assume logging in means learning is happening. Check understanding beyond attendance. Help your child use planners and checklists. Watch for stress — secondary students often mask struggles until they become serious.
9. Vulnerable learners may need different arrangements
Students with additional learning needs, very young children, and those experiencing anxiety or distress may need tailored support. Discuss specific arrangements with your school — they are expected to accommodate individual needs.
Your Child's Wellbeing
10. Screen time should be balanced
Balance online lessons with breaks, movement, rest, and offline activities. If screen-based learning is causing fatigue, headaches, or visible disengagement, inform the school. KHDA does not set a specific hour limit — it focuses on balance.
11. Wellbeing is a core part of the guidance — not an afterthought
Monitor for signs of stress: persistent tiredness, frustration, withdrawal, difficulty concentrating, or reluctance to participate. Keep routines calm and predictable. Reassure your child when learning feels difficult. If concerns persist, speak with the school's wellbeing team.
What Schools Are Responsible For vs What Parents Should Do
This is the single most important distinction in the guide. KHDA draws a clear boundary:
| Schools Are Responsible For | Parents Should |
|---|---|
| Teaching and delivering lessons | Make sure devices work and the child can log in |
| Planning the curriculum and lesson content | Organise materials and create a suitable learning space |
| Monitoring student progress | Encourage participation and check engagement |
| Providing academic support and feedback | Maintain a calm routine with breaks |
| Accommodating vulnerable learners | Watch for signs of stress and communicate early |
| Communicating changes to exams and deadlines | Flag barriers (devices, connectivity, travel, distress) |
The bottom line: If you find yourself explaining maths concepts, marking homework, or re-teaching what the lesson covered — that is the school's job, not yours. If the school is not doing it, communicate that gap to them. You are the support system, not the instructor.
Age-by-Age Guide — What Your Child Actually Needs From You
KHDA provides age-specific guidance because what a four-year-old needs during distance learning is fundamentally different from what a sixteen-year-old needs.
Early Years & Lower Primary (FS1 – Year 2, ages 3-7)
- Hands-on device support: Prepare the device, open the app, help log in. Young children cannot manage this independently.
- Short, simple activities: Attention spans at this age are 10-20 minutes. Build in frequent breaks between activities.
- Offline learning counts: Reading a book together, drawing, counting objects, building with blocks — these are all learning. Not everything needs a screen.
- Reassurance: Young children may be confused or anxious about why they cannot go to school. Keep explanations simple and calm.
- Consistent daily routine: Same wake-up time, same learning time, same break time. Predictability reduces anxiety.
If your child is in this age range, our primary school tutoring page explains how in-home support works for younger learners.
Upper Primary & Lower Secondary (Years 3-9, ages 7-14)
- Verify understanding, not just attendance: Logging in does not mean learning is happening. Ask your child to explain what they learned — if they cannot, that is a signal.
- Help with organisation: At this age, children are old enough to follow a timetable but may not track deadlines or homework independently. A visual planner or checklist helps.
- Watch for disengagement: Children in this age group may disengage silently — they appear to be in the lesson but are not participating. Check in periodically.
- Subject-specific gaps can widen fast: Maths and English gaps that were small in Year 4 become serious by Year 7. If you notice your child struggling with a specific subject, address it early. The free learning gaps assessment can help identify where the gap is.
Secondary & Senior (Years 10-13, ages 14-18)
- Structure and boundaries: Older students are more independent but can struggle with motivation, procrastination, and workload management without the structure of a school day.
- Use planners and checklists: IGCSE, A-Level, and IB students have complex timetables with multiple subjects, deadlines, and coursework. A weekly planner keeps everything visible.
- Watch for stress — they often mask it: Secondary students are under significant pressure from cancelled exams, alternative grading, university applications, and general uncertainty. Signs: irritability, sleep changes, withdrawal from family, loss of interest in activities they usually enjoy.
- Exam-year students need particular attention: With IGCSE/A-Level exams cancelled and IB using NECM grading, students' coursework, IAs, and mock results now carry more weight than ever. Professional tutoring support can help them put their strongest evidence forward.
Privacy, Cameras, and Online Safety
Takeaway #6 covers an issue many parents underestimate. KHDA's guidance:
- Follow your school's cameras-on policy. Some schools require cameras on during lessons; others make it optional. If you have concerns about privacy, raise them with the school rather than unilaterally switching the camera off.
- Protect personal information. Children should not share home addresses, phone numbers, or personal details in chat functions during lessons.
- Do not share passwords or recordings. Lesson recordings are for your child's use only — do not share them on social media or WhatsApp groups.
- Keep devices in communal spaces for younger children. This is not about surveillance — it is about safeguarding. A child learning in a bedroom with the door closed and a camera on is a safeguarding consideration.
- Flag any concerns immediately. If something happens during an online lesson that concerns you — inappropriate content, unwanted contact, or a privacy breach — report it to the school the same day.
When Distance Learning Becomes Too Much — Signs to Watch
KHDA explicitly includes wellbeing as a core component of the guide — not a footnote. Here are the signs that your child may be struggling:
| Sign | What It May Mean |
|---|---|
| Persistent tiredness despite adequate sleep | Screen fatigue or emotional exhaustion |
| Frustration or anger during lessons | Struggling with content but unable to ask for help in a group setting |
| Withdrawal from family conversations | Overwhelm, anxiety, or loss of motivation |
| Reluctance to log in or participate | Disengagement — may indicate the child is falling behind and avoiding embarrassment |
| Difficulty concentrating on tasks | Too much screen time or an underlying learning gap making the work feel impossible |
| Physical complaints (headaches, eye strain) | Screen overload — needs more breaks and offline time |
What to do: Start by talking to your child calmly — ask how they are feeling, not just what they are doing. Then communicate with the school: share what you are observing and ask what support is available. If the school's group-lesson format is not enough and your child is falling behind in a specific subject, that is the point where one-to-one professional support makes a meaningful difference.
How Tutoring Support Fits In
KHDA's guide makes the boundary clear: parents are not expected to teach. But what happens when the school's distance learning is not enough for your child — when they are falling behind, losing confidence, or disengaging?
That is the gap that professional in-home tutoring fills. Not replacing the school, not replacing the parent — filling the space in between.
- One-to-one attention that group distance-learning lessons cannot provide — especially for children who are too shy to ask questions on screen
- Subject-specific gap filling in maths, English, physics, chemistry, and biology — the subjects where gaps compound fastest
- Curriculum-specific expertise across IGCSE, A-Level, IB, and primary school curricula
- Exam-year support — coursework refinement, portfolio evidence preparation, and mock exam technique for students affected by the exam cancellations
If you are unsure whether your child needs support, the free learning gaps assessment takes 15 minutes and tells you exactly where any gaps are — no commitment required. Sometimes the answer is that your child is fine, and that is good news.
If the assessment shows gaps that need closing, contact us to discuss your child's situation. Every tutor is a full-time professional educator employed directly by GetYourTutors — not a freelancer — and every session takes place in your home.
Related Updates
This guide sits alongside our broader coverage of the 2026 UAE school closure:
- Distance Learning Support Guide for Working Parents in Dubai — practical advice by parent situation (WFH, office-based, single parent)
- UAE Private Schools Move Enrolment Fully Online for 2026-27 — step-by-step guide to the new online admissions process
- GCSE & A-Level Exams Cancelled — All Boards Guide
- IB Exams Cancelled — NECM Grading Explained
- UAE School Calendar 2026-2027
GetYourTutors is tracking the UAE school closure and education developments continuously. For our complete coverage, visit the Education Updates hub.
SOURCES
- Gulf News — "Dubai's KHDA issues distance learning guide: Parents not expected to perform role of teachers" (April 7, 2026)
- Khaleej Times — "Dubai's KHDA issues distance learning guide for parents: 11 key takeaways" (April 7, 2026)
- WhichSchoolAdvisor — "New KHDA Distance Learning Guide: Progress Matters More Than Perfection" (April 2026)
- SchoolsCompared — "KHDA NEW Guidance: Parents are NOT Expected to Perform the Role of Teachers" (April 2026)
- KHDA — Official guide PDF
Last updated: April 10, 2026. This article summarises the KHDA guide — always refer to the official PDF for the complete text. Individual school policies may vary. GetYourTutors is not affiliated with KHDA, MOE, or any school.