Janet Foley

I graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Education (Hons) and have taught in the UK and internationally.  I arrived in the UAE in 2004 and prior to joining GEMS, I was head of Key Stage 1 at a primary school in Dubai.  I joined GEMS Cambridge International School, Dubai in 2009 as Assistant Principal, Early Years, and saw the school achieve its first ‘Good’ rating from DSIB in the same year. In 2013, I accepted the role of Head of Elementary at Al Khaleej National School, further expanding my curriculum and assessment experience through the American system.  In January 2015, I became the Vice Principal and Head of Primary at GEMS Winchester School, Abu Dhabi and again saw the school’s inspection rating improve to ‘Good’ shortly afterwards. I was appointed to the role of Vice Principal, GEMS Founders School, Dubai, prior to its highly successful opening in September 2016. 

In 2019, working closely with the principal and senior leaders, I led the school through its first Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) and British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspections where the school was rated as ‘Good’.  I am passionate about both student and teacher wellbeing, and developed wellbeing program at GFS and the school was awarded the Optimus Education Wellbeing Award for Schools in 2019.  In 2022 GEMS Founders School, Dubai achieved ‘Outstanding’ in all areas in its BSO inspection and also achieved the High Performance Learning World Class School award.

In 2020, I achieved the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) from the UK Department for Education, and I am currently embarking on an educational master’s degree.