Unfortunately things have not changed. There are at least two pending court cases . The Assistant Director is poison. The culture of this company in UAE is toxic. On the TES site there is some up to date comments. "C*B* provider who cannot be named." Tes has pulled this thread a number of time but it keeps resurfacing.
Other PPP providers are not attracting the negativity of this company. Apply elsewhere, That would be my advice.

Tryagain, as an x ens staff member I feel for you. The end is in sight, you have done well to make it through the year.

Make sure you get your letter of no objection. Even if you have to take time off to go to the immigration department and/or labor dept. Apparently both can hand out bans. I did not get this flew back into UAE 18 months later, walked through customs without any hassle but then couldn't get residency without paying nearly 7000 dirams to ENS.

I had left ENS with full consent and knowledge of admin but just didn't know I had to ask for this.

Before it could be sorted out an emergency at home made it necessary to fly home immediately. I went and spoke to ENS both the office staff and the director and they were rude and arrogant. They just wanted their money. i worked very hard for that school and could not believe the treatment handed out. Of course there was no one there who could back up my story, they have all left.

Do go to the trouble of making sure your immigration and labor status is worked out, even if it takes you all hiring a bus once school is over and presenting on mass.

Having to pay nearly 7000 dirams to them really hurt, they lack any form of morals. [code]<a name="here"></a>[/code]

I don't know about Saudi but Skype is a banned website in Abu Dhabi.

Take a reality check.

School started in 2002.
Much the same arabic admin staff in place since start
Constant turnover of western teachers who have nothing but negative things to say about admin

mmmmmm conclusion,

If you are Arabic and get a job in the admin side this could be an OK job.

If you are a western teacher, you are likely to be like the 80% of staff that left the year I did, very unhappy and glad to leave.

ENS900 is definately admin from ENS

Be ever so careful. I worked for CFBT, I thought this was a reputable English company but it turned out far from it. They kept my passport for nearly 4 months.

I had asked the company and they assured me all was fine. When I insisted on information in writing and refused any more verbal assurances, they sacked me.

It turned out, I had no working visa and way over on my visitors visa. Ihad to go to court and it all cost. Money out of my pocket.

I could have taken CFBT to court but it's another process i just didn't have the time to deal with.

Chalk it up to experience and move on BUT in the future I will be far more diligent.

My perception is the number of 'bad' schools to 'good' is rising. Security in your position, top notch admin, professional development opportunities, stable curriculums, honest reporting procedures cannot be assured in many of the schools who like to call themselves international.
Take the example of ENS, it gets many negative feedbacks but claims it has CIS backing and IB staus. It advertises on what were once reputable sites, attends fairs.
Why would you pay out an enormous amount of money to attend a fair, when there is no protection against schools like ENS.
I like maxsaidno idea of a ultra selective fair, a fair where applicants could trust that schools had been vetted.
Another reason is wages. I have been working overseas for ten years now and in real terms my wages have dropped. It used to be financially rewarding for me to work overseas, now I would earn less than home wages.
I would work overseas again if the above things were assured.

What I like about this forum, it's public. Everyone gets to read comments about schools both positive and negative and a person can react if they think what has been said is not true. Unlike what happens to teachers, Search etc can ban a teacher without a public forum.
I love International School Review, I would never accept a position without reading it.

Scott, you can only read others advice and make your decision. I have worked in many international schools and have never come across anything that aproaches what goes on at ENS.
You state that teachers, "should be there for the kids." I think thats part of the problem at ENS, the admin is not there for the kids. They constantly ask their staff to do things that are not in childrens best interest.
But Scott,it is your decision. Ignore advice from this site and others at your own risk.

You are not stating facts... You accused me of running away when I left with full knowledge of admin.

I know about what happened at ENS because I stayed in contact with staff.

Ens shows up at a job fair, it doesn't change what the school really is. A place to be avoided.

I left the school with full knowledge of admin. When I visited the school, they could not find my file or my letter of resignation but insisted I done the wrong thing. Why don't you let the forum know more about your position in the school. 20% is way under what really happened in that school.

But this forum tells it all, you are really the only positive voice among all the negatives.

I worked for ENS about 2 years ago and wrote to this site warning others. I was working for another company in Abu Dhabi and just recently had to fly out quickly due to my father being hospitalised and not expected to live.
I then found out this school had put a ban on me and was demanding nearly 6000 dirams if i wanted to leave the country. I visited the school and explained my situation to the director, no he insisted on the 6000 dirams, he wouldnt listen to me, just kept insisting that I had left the school illegally.
i have never read anything negative about this school that has not been correct.... don't go there.

I left this school over 2 years ago, I returned to the UAE. When I tried to leave the UAE immigration found that the school had put a ban on me. I was trying to leave the UAE quickly to return to my father who was not expected to live and what did this school demand nearly 6000 dirams or face a jail sentence.
I went to the school and personally explained my case to no avail. They maintained I had left my contract illegally.
As for accomodation, it is not a problem. This is not the issue, the school is absolutely horrible. Everything that is said on this site is true. Don't go there.