The UAE has approved the necessary changes to school entry ages for admission to kindergarten and Grade 1, which will take effect from the 2026 to 2027 academic year.
The revised policy, approved by the Council for Education, Human Development and Community Development following the recommendation of the Ministry of Education, moves the official age cut-off date from 31 August to 31 December of the year of admission.
This change will apply to all schools and kindergartens whose academic calendars begin in August or September.
This decision follows a comprehensive technical and pedagogical review based on national educational performance data, international benchmarking and consultation across the education sector. Authorities said the revised cut-off date is designed to improve consistency in enrollment and support smooth transitions between different courses.
UAE revises school entry age
Under the revised criteria, children must meet the required age by 31 December of the year of admission. In Pre-Kindergarten, children must be three years old on that day. Admission to Kindergarten 1 will require children to be four years old, while Kindergarten 2 will be open to five-year-olds by December 31. In Grade 1, children must be six years old on the closing date.
The age limits are consistent with the equal stages of all major international courses, including the British and French programs, as well as other international education systems used in the UAE.
This policy will only apply to new student admissions from the 2026 to 2027 academic year and will not affect children already enrolled in schools, who will continue under the age requirements that were in effect at the time of their original enrollment.
Schools operating with an academic calendar starting in April will continue to use the existing closing date of March 31, with no changes to their current admissions process.
The new policy is in line with global plans
For students transferring between schools, moving between different courses or arriving from outside the UAE, placement decisions will continue to be based on the final grade successfully completed and academic progress, in accordance with approved grade equivalency procedures.
Policy support reviews assessed child readiness in all domains of cognitive, social-emotional, language and emotional development. A national data set of more than 39,000 students was analyzed, including children who entered school at ages three, four and five under the previous termination program.
The findings do not indicate any academic disadvantage linked to early school entry. In some cases, students who enrolled at an early age showed strong academic results, while those who entered later showed slightly lower performance.
Education authorities said the revised policy reflects a comprehensive approach to early education that takes into account developmental readiness and age, and supports fairness, consistency and quality of education throughout the UAE school system.
