Accredited Behaviour Support Training in the Middle East From The Team TeachCentre of Excellence at Al Karamah School, UAE
Team Teach delivers accredited, evidence‑based behaviour support and positive handling training across the UAE and the wider Middle East through our established Centre of Excellence at Al Karamah School & Training Institute in Abu Dhabi.
What It Means to Be a Team Teach Centre of Excellence
Organisations and practitioners in education, and health and social care can access internationally recognised Team Teach training locally, supported by experienced local trainers and a proven training environment that aligns with both global best practice and regional educational contexts.
Our training is delivered through our premier regional partner, Al Karamah School & Training Institute in Abu Dhabi. A Centre of Excellence isn’t just a badge; it represents the highest global standards of practice.
Fully Embedded Ethos: The Head Teacher, leadership, and all 151 teachers and teaching assistants are fully Team Teach trained. The philosophy of positive behaviour support is embedded in every classroom, theory, and daily practice.
Specialist Expertise: As the first specialist autism provision in the Gulf region, Al Karamah supports 229 Emirati students of determination (aged 3–25) with complex needs.
A Proven Training Hub: With purpose-designed facilities and 6 certified in-house trainers, the centre delivers exceptionally high-quality, bilingual training (English and Arabic) tailored to regional educational contexts.
From Compliance to Calm: The Al Karamah Story
About Al Karamah School & Training Institute
Al Karamah School & Training Institute is the first specialist autism provision in the Gulf region, supporting local Emirati autistic children (students of determination) from 3-25 years old.
They support 229 students across their school and training facility. The staff team is made up of 151 teachers and teaching assistants, and 25 multi-disciplinary therapists, from both local and substantially diverse backgrounds.
“We were looking for something to unify our language, strategies, and approach to behaviour support.”
To understand the impact of Team Teach, you only have to look at Al Karamah’s own transformation.
The Challenge
With a large, highly diverse staffing body and 25 multi-disciplinary therapists, the school lacked a unified approach. Misconceptions about behaviour support meant a restrictive “compliance mindset” was common, and finding time to train staff without disrupting learning felt impossible.
The Innovation
To protect teaching time, the school trained their 25 therapists first. These therapists then stepped into classrooms to cover lessons, freeing up teachers and assistants to complete their intensive two-day training. This cross-disruptive strategy built instant empathy and cohesion across the entire workforce.
Shared language and strategies were embedded through interactive wall displays using Team Teach models, encouraging students and staff to think about the stages of distress and support, and suggest strategies to self-regulate and de-escalate situations. New risk assessment models and de-escalation techniques were introduced in training sessions.
This collaborative, coherent approach empowers everyone across the community, and helps challenge perceptions of behaviour.
The Impact
There has been a significant reduction in behaviour incidents, thanks to a new risk assessment model based on the Team Teach approach to understanding behaviour.
Adele highlights increased levels of consistency across the whole organisation and shares evidence of transformed thinking amongst staff. She recalls one particular instance where a staff member noticed a significant improvement in the behaviour of a child with complex needs related to autism and pathological demand avoidance (PDA).
As Senior Behaviour Therapist Adele Hattingh notes, staff quickly realised that changing student behaviour started with changing their own.
Adele Hattingh
Senior Behaviour Therapist
“Calm adults create calm students. Team Teach training has enhanced calmness and confidence across our entire community, protecting the dignity of both staff and students.”
Training Tailored for Your Organisation
Whether you want to train your immediate team or build internal capacity, our Centre of Excellence provides flexible programmes across the GCC:
- Level 1 & Level 2 Courses: Foundational and advanced behaviour support and de-escalation skills.
- Trainer Courses (3 or 5-Day): Certify your own staff to deliver Team Teach training internally.
- Bespoke On-Site Training: Our regional trainers can deliver certified programmes directly at your facility.
Who Can Benefit From Team Teach Training in the Middle East?
International and local schools, SEND settings, higher education, healthcare providers, and community support services.
