Shakhsiyah School

Shakhsiyah Schools are governed by the Principles of Shakhsiyah Education, which have been developed through extensive research in order to generate a 21st century Islamic educational model that is true to the Qur’an and sunnah. We have a strong Islamic and ‘alternative’ ethos which means we don’t approach learning in the same way as other schools. Our priorities are different and therefore our practice is different. We have a holistic approach that has similarities with various ‘alternative’ models including un-schooling, homeschooling, Human Scale Education, Steiner Schools and Montessori, amongst others. Above all, we aim to educate our children to be strong independent Muslims who recognize their interdependence on others and choose to serve Islam due to their own personal conviction. We engage in tarbiyah, ta’alim and taadib to develop Shakhsiyah Islamiyah. In accordance with the saying of Ali ibn Abi Talib, we educate our children for a time that is not our time (the future). As such we aim to prepare children for their future life in modern Britain and our global village, taking part in and serving their local and wider communities.

The Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation is an educational establishment aimed at providing high quality academic education in combination with classical Islamic culturing as:

Shakhsiyah Schools endeavour to nurture the natural disposition (fitrah) of each individual child in order to develop his/her personal character (shakhsiyah) into a well rounded, confident Muslim who has sincerity in intention and steadfastness in action.

Shakhsiyah educators work in partnership with parents to develop each child’s personal character enabling them to achieve their full potential in all aspects of life including academic success.

Shakhsiyah Schools aim to develop leaders who play an active part in their diverse local and global communities, serving both the Muslim community and humanity.

Shakhsiyah Schools prepare children for their future life in modern Britain and our global village by developing confidence in their Islamic culture and respect for other cultures, fostering harmony in our diverse communities.

Shakhsiyah Schools’ mission is to provide personalised character education; our ethos requires an aims-based or values-based approach to curriculum design. Shakhsiyah Schools’ curricula are built upon and embody the Principles of Shakhsiyah Education generating learning for life and for the akhirah (hereafter). Our holistic curricula transcend the boundaries imposed by traditional subjects. We believe that children do not think naturally in terms of different subjects but tend to have a more holistic view of the world. Children’s natural learning and development as human beings require a meaningful, real-life and purposeful curriculum that gives them a sense of their personal place in the world as khalifa tul ardh (stewards of the earth).

At the core of our curricula is Halaqah, an Islamic oral-dialogical pedagogy that we have developed for use with children in the 21st century context. We have also devised own unique curriculum for Halaqah. This Halaqah Curriculum is further intertwined with Qur’an and Qur’anic Arabic to develop a bilingual curriculum. All other learning in our holistic thematic curriculum draws on Halaqah and Qur’an. This is because we understand that we are asked by Allah ta’ala to look around the world to see His Signs and ponder on His glory. We realise it is our role to read these meanings in the Universe to appreciate and thank Allah ta’ala for all the Blessings that He has bestowed upon us. Glory be to the One who created all knowledge as a means to come to know Him.

Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation has grown out of the quest undertaken by home-schooling Muslim mothers to generate a contemporary education system from Qur’an, Sunnah and classical Islamic pedagogy. Shakhsiyah Education principles are built on the solid foundation of our deen and derived from the understanding of the deen as Iman, Islam and Ihsan. In Shakhsiyah Education, these foundational concepts of deen have been related to the foundational concepts of Islamic education, tarbiyah, ta’alim and taadib. In Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation schools and educational projects, the following principles shape every aspect of our work, and are the commitment which binds together a community of learning, which involves children, Muslim youth, teachers and parents.