Portugal Colonial - Masterminds Education Named "Most Nurturing Early Education Environment" at UAE Business Awards 2026; Standardizes Early Learning Model with 12-Student Class Cap Structured as Two Learning Groups of Six

DUBAI, AE / ACCESS Newswire / February 20, 2026 / Masterminds Education announced today that it has been recognized at the UAE Business Awards 2026 with two honors: Most Nurturing Early Education Environment 2026 and Child Development Excellence Award 2026. The awards extend Masterminds' record of 10 consecutive years of recognition and reinforce the organization's focus on high-impact early education built on consistency, relationships, and outcomes.

As part of strengthening the operating conditions behind the "Most Nurturing" recognition, Masterminds Early Learning Center in Dubai announced an optimization to its early education structure: beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, the Early Learning Center will operate with a maximum class size of 12 students across Preschool through KG2, organized as two learning groups of six within each class. Masterminds emphasized that this is a standardization and refinement of an already small-class model that has long operated below market averages.

In many schools, early education classes commonly range from 20 to 27 children, making sustained attention, individualized feedback, and high-quality teacher-child interaction harder.

Masterminds said the smaller-group structure strengthens what nurturing looks like in practice: enabling stronger teacher-child relationships, sustained attention, emotional safety, and consistent routines that help children feel safe, known, and confident while developing across intellectual, linguistic, physical, social, and creative domains. As learning is increasingly shaped by technology outside the classroom, Masterminds believes the most durable advantage in early education remains deeply human: consistent relationships, rich language, purposeful play, and the ability to build confidence and character through real interaction.

The decision is informed by classroom practice and developmental research insights, including an ongoing collaboration with the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, where one consistent theme is the link between group size, attention, and learning depth. Masterminds noted that learning groups of around six help children participate more fully while enabling higher-quality interactions and more individualized feedback.

"Nurturing is not a slogan; it is built through daily structure, time, attention, and the quality of teacher-child relationships," said Tania Siddiqi, School Director. "This recognition reflects what we prioritize every day, and the decision to standardize at 12 students per class across early education reinforces the conditions that allow children to thrive."

Shamail Siddiqi, Co-Founder and CEO of Masterminds Education, added: "As demand grows across the market, it's easy for quality to be diluted. We've chosen the opposite direction; protecting depth, consistency, and outcomes by strengthening the conditions that enable children to thrive."

A holistic program integrated into the core school day

Masterminds' Early Learning Center serves children ages 1-6 and follows a whole-child model designed to be delivered as an integrated daily program. Program elements include:

• Daily languages including English, Arabic, and French

• Early literacy and mathematics foundations, with structured conceptual development

• Music education, including Suzuki violin and piano

• Daily physical development including swimming and gymnastics, plus coordinated movement and ball skills

• Knowledge-building and enrichment, designed to broaden vocabulary, general knowledge, and conceptual understanding

Masterminds serves both Dubai-based families and international families relocating to Dubai, with an English-led program and integrated Arabic and French designed for global mobility.

Learn more at Masterminds Early Learning Center.

About Masterminds Education

Founded in Dubai in 2016, Masterminds Education delivers a whole-child approach to education focused on intellectual, physical, and social development. The organization includes the Masterminds Early Learning Center (ages 1-6) and the Masterminds VIP Micro-School (ages 6-14), both designed around high-caliber teaching, multilingual learning, integrated enrichment, and structured, high-expectations delivery. Masterminds is recognized for integrating specialist learning into the core program and for maintaining a consistent focus on depth, relationships, and outcomes.

Media Contact

Masterminds Education
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +971 4 346 9210
Website: www.masterminds.ae

SOURCE: Masterminds Education

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