Gulf News, 3 January 2026: Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has introduced binding new health, safety and wellbeing standards for early‑childhood centres under its recently approved Early Childhood Quality Framework.

The KHDA has announced a suite of enhanced standards aimed at ensuring consistency and quality across nurseries and early years centres in Dubai. The reforms impose requirements on centre design—covering learning spaces that are attuned to developmental needs, inclusion, and cultural relevance—and mandate comprehensive protection policies, including cybersecurity, infection control, nutritional provisions, and incident-management procedures.

Under the framework, facilities must ensure accessibility, promote participation, and actively reflect Emirati values in their environments. Staff are required to maintain digital safety, conduct continuous hazard identification, and implement preventive health measures. Guardians and centre personnel must also be equipped with protocols for reporting, assessing, and handling safety incidents.

The initiative is part of broader regulatory measures under Dubai’s Education 33 strategy, aimed at elevating childcare provision to first-world standards.

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