Islamic Education in the UK: A Parent's Overview

If you want your child to grow up secure in their faith and well educated, the UK gives you more routes than most parents realise, and they differ far more than their names suggest. This guide maps the four main options, what each costs, and, just as important, how each one is regulated, so you know exactly what protection and oversight sits behind the setting you choose.

A number of state schools in England are designated Muslim faith schools. They are free to attend, must follow the National Curriculum, and are inspected by Ofsted like any other state school (GOV.UK: types of school).

You apply through your local authority in the normal admissions round (GOV.UK: school admissions). Faith schools may use faith-based criteria to prioritise applicants when oversubscribed. The popular ones usually are, which is the route's practical limit: there are far fewer places than families who want them, and whole regions have no Muslim state school at all.

In short: free, fully regulated, follows the national system, if you can get a place and if one exists near you.

Route 2: Independent Islamic schools

Many Islamic schools in Britain are independent: fee-charging schools run by charities, trusts or companies. Every one must be registered with the Department for Education and must meet the independent school standards, legally enforceable requirements covering the quality of education, pupils' welfare, safeguarding, premises and leadership (GOV.UK: regulating independent schools). They are inspected either by Ofsted or, for schools in the main independent associations, by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), with all reports published free online (Ofsted's at reports.ofsted.gov.uk).

Independent schools set their own admissions and need not follow the National Curriculum, though many choose to, adding Qur'an, Arabic and Islamic Studies around it. This is the model that makes a genuinely integrated day possible: at Daffodil, for instance, hifdh (memorising the Qur'an) runs as a structured pathway inside the school timetable alongside the full National Curriculum, rather than as a separate evening commitment.

The cost is the obvious constraint. Fees vary widely between schools, and since January 2025 they carry 20% VAT (GOV.UK: VAT on private school fees), so always compare VAT-inclusive totals.

In short: the most control over ethos and curriculum, published inspection reports, but fees to pay. Quality varies school to school, so check each one.

Route 3: Any school + madrasah or maktab

The most common arrangement in Britain by far: children attend a local school (state or independent) and go to a madrasah or maktab (a mosque- or community-based class, usually on weekday evenings or weekends) for Qur'an reading, memorisation and Islamic studies.

Parents should understand the regulatory position clearly: madrasahs are classed as out-of-school settings. They are not schools, are not routinely inspected, and are not covered by the independent school standards. The government publishes a voluntary safeguarding code of practice for out-of-school settings, and voluntary is the key word. Many madrasahs are excellent and well run; the point is that you are the inspector. Ask about staff DBS checks, a written safeguarding policy and a named safeguarding lead, class sizes, and how progress is reported.

The other cost is the family timetable: a 3:15pm school pick-up followed by a 5pm madrasah run, five days a week, is a real load on children and parents alike, and a big part of why many families look at integrated schools instead.

In short: flexible and affordable, and keeps state schooling free. But it is lightly regulated, and it doubles the daily run.

Route 4: Home education plus maktab

Home education is legal in England: you may educate your child at home instead of school, provided they receive a suitable full-time education, and the council may make informal enquiries to check (GOV.UK: educating your child at home). Some Muslim families combine home education with maktab classes or private Qur'an tutors.

It offers maximum control of content and pace, and some families make it work beautifully. Be realistic about what it demands: one parent's time more or less full-time, self-sourced curriculum and assessment, and deliberate effort to give a child friendships, sport and group learning. There is no inspection or grading of home education: the accountability is entirely yours.

In short: total flexibility, minimal external oversight, maximum parental workload.

The four routes at a glance

Which route fits your family?

• If cost is the deciding factor and a Muslim state school exists near you: apply, and have a realistic second preference, because oversubscription is common.
• If evenings are breaking the family (work, school run, madrasah run), an integrated independent school replaces two institutions with one. Weigh the VAT-inclusive fee against the madrasah fees, travel and hours you get back.
• If your priority is a serious memorisation pathway, compare how each setting structures it. A dedicated in-school programme with ability groups and assessment (our own runs in three levels; see Qur'an and Hifdh) is a different proposition from an hour of evening hifdh after a full school day.
• If your child needs closer attention, including some children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), smaller settings and smaller classes can matter more than any other factor. Ask any school, in any of these routes, how it supports additional needs, who its SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) is, and how it would work with an EHCP (education, health and care plan).
• If your child is under five, the same thinking applies a stage earlier: Islamic nurseries exist in all the same forms, including funded places. See Daffodil Nursery for how the funded and non-funded routes work.

Whichever route you lean towards, the checks are the same: look the setting up on Get Information about Schools if it claims to be a school, read the latest inspection report, and ask direct safeguarding questions. Our companion guide, How to choose an Islamic primary school in London, turns those checks into a step-by-step visit checklist.