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The TES Awards are among the most respected in global education, recognising schools around the world that are reshaping how children learn, grow, and feel at school. Being recognised in this category speaks to something fundamental about who we are: a clear, intentional approach to wellbeing that’s built into the structure of the school day and the way people work together, every day.
Building on the long-running TES Schools Awards in the UK, often described as the ‘Oscars of education’, the TES International School Awards celebrate excellence across the global international schools sector. This year, an independent panel of expert judges selected just 13 winners from a diverse shortlist representing every continent.
The judges said:
‘The #MEtime initiative is a winner because it transforms wellbeing from an add-on into the architecture of daily life, embodying the vision that thriving staff are the non-negotiable foundation for exceptional student experience and academic outcomes.’
Thriving Together: The Link Between Student, Parent, and Teacher Wellbeing
At Nord Anglia International School Abu Dhabi, wellbeing is a shared responsibility; it shapes how our days begin, how people relate to one another, and how learning unfolds.
Our #MEtime initiative and Flexible Day were designed around a simple belief: when students, parents, and teachers feel supported, the whole school community benefits. Rather than treating wellbeing as something separate from learning, we’ve built it into the rhythm of the day, creating calmer mornings, stronger relationships, and a school environment where people arrive ready to engage.
When NAS Abu Dhabi opened in 2023, we made a clear choice to embed wellbeing into the structure of the school day. While most schools in Abu Dhabi open to students at 7.30 am, our school day starts at 8.30 am, giving families an additional hour of flexibility. #MEtime is the window between 7.30 am and 8.30 am. It stands for Morning Enrichment, but also ‘time for me’.
Rather than being a compulsory period, #MEtime is an adaptive start-of-day routine where students choose what they need most to begin the day well. They might join an invigorating activity, practise a sport, build a new skill, enjoy a healthy breakfast with friends, or stay at home a little longer to rest.
We then extended that same thinking to staff. Once a week, colleagues start an hour later, giving them time to exercise, spend time with family, prepare for the day ahead, or simply slow down. Some use this time to train or take part in wellbeing activities with colleagues. Others value the chance for a quieter, more balanced start.
This programme isn’t added onto a traditional school day, it reshapes it. The flexible start recognises adolescent sleep needs, reduces morning stress for families, and helps students arrive energised, rested, and socially connected.
A calmer morning at home leads to a calmer arrival at school. Parents tell us that the reduced rush changes conversations, moods, and expectations for the day ahead. That calm doesn’t stop at the school gate, it carries into classrooms, friendships, and learning. In this way, family wellbeing becomes part of the school’s wellbeing, not something separate from it.
Why This Matters for Students
Student wellbeing does not exist in isolation. When educators feel well, supported, and valued, students experience that care in very real ways. Children carry the emotional tone of their mornings into school, just as teachers bring the balance, or pressure, of their own lives into the classroom. With this in mind, #MEtime was shaped to support the whole ecosystem around the child.
#MEtime works because it supports everyone. For students, it offers choice and agency at the start of the day. For staff, it creates space to arrive grounded and present. For parents, it eases the morning rush and removes unnecessary stress. These experiences are interconnected: when adults begin the day with balance, children feel it, and learning follows more naturally.
A calm start helps students engage more deeply in lessons, collaborate with confidence, and build positive routines. It also strengthens social connection, which matters just as much as academic progress.
Belonging grows through relationships: between students and teachers, families and staff, and parents with one another. #MEtime creates the time and space for those relationships to form naturally, strengthening trust across the whole community.
A Shared Achievement
Here’s how TES summarised our initiative:
Nord Anglia International School Abu Dhabi has reimagined wellbeing as a structural priority through its pioneering #MEtime initiative, giving every staff member an hour each week to rest, exercise, or spend time with family. This commitment, supported by flexible scheduling and a holistic wellbeing ecosystem, has created a calm, positive environment where staff feel valued and connected. Evidence of success is clear: outstanding retention, low absenteeism, and high engagement in enrichment activities, alongside results showing strong community ties and friendships at work. By embedding wellbeing into the school day, not as a reactive measure but as a visible priority, Nord Anglia International School Abu Dhabi has cultivated a culture of balance, belonging, and professional growth that empowers staff to bring their best selves to work.
This recognition reflects the contribution of the entire NAS Abu Dhabi community: those who shaped the concept at the start, and those who sustain it each day. A strong culture grows when people believe in it, contribute to it, and see its value. This award simply confirms what our community experiences daily: a school where people feel valued, balanced, and ready to learn.
We recognise our senior leadership team who founded NAS Abu Dhabi, shaped the original idea of #MEtime and the Flexible Day, and created the culture we are all fortunate to work in today. Their clarity of purpose, and the way they built wellbeing into the structure of the school from day one, set the direction for everything that followed. This award reflects their vision as much as the daily commitment of the colleagues who continue to nurture it across our community. For more information, visit the TES website page.
When schools care for staff, staff care more effectively for students. When students feel settled and supported, families feel confident and connected. This is the culture we continue to build every day at NAS Abu Dhabi — intentionally, collectively, and with people at its heart.
To find out more about our programmes and community, reach out to our admissions team at admission@nasabudhabi.ae or call +971 2 699 3333. The best way to learn about us is to see it for yourself. Join our Friday group tours – book here.