Zinab Osama
Application Letter
I have more than 13 years of experience in early childhood; six years at Dhafra school as a teacher with a drive and passion for caring and learning of children and three years as a year leader with a motive for professional growth. I have been an instrumental part in creating a successful, welcoming and inclusive department that pursues the vision and implements the policies set out by ADEK.
I am a dynamic element in maintaining the highest standards of Teaching and Learning and innovative in keeping pace with future developments in education which can be evident in the significant growth in the quality of teaching and learning across KG department.
My contribution didn’t stop at my year group; it extended across the KG department. I worked collaboratively with senior leaders on developing KG curriculum, reading programs, phonics support, students’ attainment, learning environments, observations and assessments.
Additionally, I worked on relating available national/international policies and documentation, school development plan, inspection reports to justify the needs and make action plans. I have a good command of using various data analysis tools such as SPSS, Tableau, Rstudio, NVivo, and both Apple and Google supported applications.
On my journey of professional development, I identified ways to enhance my leadership skills by adopting reflective practices, coaching, and distributed leadership practices. I lead by example to inspire and motivate people to reach our shared vision. Engagement of my team in decision making reduces resistance at the time of change. I listen and communicate effectively with teachers, parents and children using emotional intelligence strategies. I use the coaching leadership approach with my team members to empower and motivate them to complete tasks. Coaching techniques are used for teachers’ observations feedback as well. I believe that each person knows
their strength and weakness areas, my role as a coach is to make the coachee think of ways to use their strength to develop their weaknesses areas.
When it comes to stepping into leadership, networking with the surrounding community is vital. I have some good contacts within UAE educational community achieved through attending educational conferences and courses. Currently, I am working on creating an interest group of nature-based learning with NGOs, government bodies, school principals and nature-based advocates.
I am very keen to make a real difference to the lives of our children, committed to and expect all my staff to share this commitment. I am a person who will always seek to learn through new challenges, especially when it comes to early years and education which motivates me to join your team.
Recently, I attained a Master degree in Education with a distinction in my dissertation topic, Leadership in Forest Schools- UAE Case Study. I wrote a journal paper ‘Out of the Woods and into the Desert - Leadership of Forest Schools’ waiting for publisher approval. Additionally, I am participating in BELMAS conference in July with a conference paper. Currently, I am completing NPQSL qualification and completing PhD admission application with UCL.
Sincerely,
Zinab Hendawy