Hey Raha blog · Nanny and helper
Remote learning with a nanny or helper: a GCC guide for working parents
A nanny or helper can run a remote school day well if she has three things: the day's timetable, a way into each lesson, and a clear plan for what to do when something fails. She does not need to teach, and she does not need your passwords. Education authorities in the region are clear that schools stay responsible for teaching while the family looks after the setting, so her job is logistics: the right device, the right link, at the right time, with breaks and food in between.
Who does what on a remote school day
| Who | Responsible for | Where this comes from | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| School and teacher | Teaching, live lessons, timetables, attendance, feedback | UAE MOE responsibilities; KHDA parent guide; ADEK framework | Confirmed (MOE via Gulf News, KHDA via WAM); ADEK UNCONFIRMED (reported) |
| Parent | Schedule, devices and platform access, contact with the school | UAE MOE, five parent responsibilities | Confirmed (Gulf News) |
| Nanny or helper (on your behalf) | Device ready, child logged in on time, breaks, materials, telling you about problems | Your brief, based on the parent role above | Your decision |
| Child (older) | Attending in full, doing tasks, reporting technical issues | UAE MOE, four student responsibilities | Confirmed (Gulf News) |
Remote learning has been used across the region in 2026. The UAE moved schools online from 2 March to 17 April 2026. Qatar moved private schools and kindergartens to distance learning from 1 March 2026 as a precautionary measure, returning in full on 29 March (see our Qatar school calendar). Bahrain was also reported to move schools online from 1 March (UNCONFIRMED). In Saudi Arabia, schools in Riyadh city and Diriyah studied remotely through Madrasati from 11 to 22 October 2026. Each country's guide has the detail: our UAE remote learning guide and our Saudi remote learning guide.
What stays with you
Some things are better kept with the parent, even when she runs the day:
- Passwords. KHDA's parent guide asks families not to share passwords. Sign your child in on their own device once, tick "stay signed in" where the platform allows it, and keep the password yourself. If a session expires, she messages you and you sign in remotely or tell her the one-time step.
- Contact with the school. Questions to teachers, absence notes and complaints come from you, through the school's official channel.
- Decisions. Whether a sick child joins lessons, whether to skip an optional session, and anything about grades.
- Recordings. Nobody records a lesson or shares screenshots of classmates. KHDA's guide covers this too.
What she needs before the first lesson
- The timetable, for each child, with start times and lesson lengths. In UAE public schools in spring 2026, lessons were 30 to 40 minutes depending on age.
- Where each link appears. In UAE public schools, teachers post the link in the class channel on Teams when the lesson starts. In Saudi public schools, she opens Virtual Classes in Madrasati, then Join. Private and international schools use their own platform and send links by email or app.
- A charged, signed-in device per child, with headphones for older children and the charger on the table.
- Materials list for the day: books, worksheets to print, craft items.
- Your contact plan: when you can answer, and who else to call if you cannot.
- The school's support route, such as the class teacher's channel, so the child can report a technical problem during the lesson.
A remote day brief you can copy
Send this the evening before, in the language she reads most comfortably. Short lines work better than paragraphs.
Tomorrow, [day and date], remote school
[Child 1], [grade]: first lesson [time]. Device: [which]. Link: [where it appears, or the link]. Lessons: [list with times]. Breaks: [times]. Needs: [book, worksheet, materials].
[Child 2], [grade]: same format.
10 minutes before each lesson: device on, charger in, child at the table, headphones ready.
Breaks: water, snack, move away from the screen.
If a link does not work: refresh, then restart the app, then message me with a photo of the screen. Do not try other links from group chats.
If there is a safety alert: follow it first. The lesson can wait.
End of day: check homework is submitted, put devices on charge, send me one line on how it went.
Our nanny briefing template and guide to briefing your nanny or helper on the school week cover the in-person weeks in the same style.
When something goes wrong
- The link does not open. Refresh, then restart the app. In UAE public schools, schools asked students to report problems during the lesson with a screenshot, as reports after the school day may not be accepted. She sends you the photo; you or your child send it through the official channel.
- The child is logged out. She messages you; you sign in. This is why passwords stay with you.
- Wi-Fi drops. Switch the device to your phone's hotspot if you have left one at home, or move closer to the router.
- Two lessons clash for two children. She sets up the younger child first and keeps them in sight, and the older child joins on their own.
- The timetable changes. Schools send changes by email or app. If she only has yesterday's plan, she follows it and checks with you.
- A public safety alert sounds. Safety first, as KHDA's guide says. Lessons can be caught up.
By age: what kind of help works
- Kindergarten and early primary: sitting beside the child, hands on the device, getting them in and out of lessons, offline activities between. KHDA's guide notes that younger children need hands-on help with devices, log-ins and offline tasks.
- Upper primary: nearby rather than beside; checking they joined, nudging at breaks.
- Secondary: a light touch. Older students run their own planner or checklist; she makes sure they are up, fed and at the table.
Our printable remote learning day checklist works for her too: print one per child per day.
Every link and timetable in her brief with Raha
The hardest part of running a remote day for someone else is having every link and change in one place. Hey Raha reads your school emails, read-only, and resurfaces every lesson link and timetable the school sends by email. She spots changes such as an extension, a new timetable or a worksheet, updates your family plan and tells you on WhatsApp. Your nanny or helper gets her own version each day, with the timetable and the links she needs to set up each lesson, without fees or private notes, so you do not have to step in from work. Links that a school only posts inside its platform stay there, and her brief tells her where to look. Try Hey Raha free for 14 days. If school email already feels like too much, our guide to too many school emails has ways to cut it down.
Remote learning with a nanny or helper FAQ
Can a nanny or helper supervise remote learning?
Yes. Her role is to make sure your child is on the right device, in the right lesson, at the right time, with breaks and materials. Education authorities in the region say teaching stays with the school; the UAE Ministry of Education's parent responsibilities are about schedules, devices and encouragement, not teaching. She can do all of that with a clear brief.
Should I give my nanny my child's school password?
It is better not to. KHDA's parent guide asks families not to share passwords. Sign your child in on their device once, keep them signed in where the platform allows, and keep the password yourself. If they are logged out, she messages you and you sign in.
What should a remote learning brief for a nanny include?
The timetable for each child with times, where each lesson link appears, which device each child uses, the materials needed, break times, what to do if a link fails, what to do in a safety alert and an end-of-day check. Send it the evening before in short lines.
What should she do if a lesson link does not work?
Refresh, then restart the app, then send you a photo of the screen. Some UAE public schools asked for technical problems to be reported during the lesson with a screenshot, so a quick message helps you or your child report it on time through the school's official channel. She should not use links from group chats.
How do I keep my nanny updated when the school changes the timetable?
Send her the change as soon as the school sends it, ideally in the same place as her daily brief. Hey Raha reads your school emails, read-only, picks up timetable changes and lesson links, and sends her an updated WhatsApp brief without fees or private notes.
Sources
- Gulf News, UAE sets 22 rules for remote learning, 30 Mar 2026
- WAM, KHDA releases new parent guide to support distance learning, 7 Apr 2026
- Khaleej Times, new rules for distance learning in Abu Dhabi, Apr 2026
- WAM, third term begins with remote learning, 23 Mar 2026
- WAM, in-person learning to resume, 15 Apr 2026
- Al Bayan, public school lesson links via Teams and LMS, Apr 2026
- The Peninsula, schools and kindergartens in Qatar to switch to distance learning, 28 Feb 2026
- Khaleej Times, UAE announces remote learning from March 2 to 4 (mentions Qatar and Bahrain), 28 Feb 2026
- Ministry of Education (Saudi Arabia), Madrasati e-learning service
- General Administration of Education in Riyadh, official X post, 17 Oct 2026
A little help from Hey Raha
On a remote day, the person at home needs the timetable and the right link at the right time. Hey Raha reads your school emails, read-only, and sends you and your nanny or helper one clear WhatsApp plan, with the links for each lesson, updated when things change. How Raha handles your email.
Start freeMarie, founder of Hey Raha
Related: UAE remote learning guide · Remote learning day checklist · Nanny briefing template
More from the blog: the Hey Raha blog hub. New here? Our practical guides walk through the day-to-day.