Running a madrasa well
Practical, experience-based guides for madrasa admins and masjid committees — fee collection, attendance, parents, and everything spreadsheets can't do.
Safeguarding in Madaris: The DfE Guidance for Out-of-School Settings
England only. The Department for Education's safeguarding guidance for out-of-school settings names supplementary schools set up for religious purposes. It is voluntary, but some of what it covers is already law. What the DfE's guide for parents says to look for in a provider, with a checklist and links to the source pages.
Read the guideWhat a Madrasa Parent Portal Should Show Parents
A good parent portal answers the five things parents ring the office about: what they owe, whether a payment arrived, attendance, progress and term dates. What it should show, what it must never show, and why it does not replace a formal request for records.
Read the guideMadrasa Attendance Register: Paper, Spreadsheet or App
Paper is quick to mark and slow to use afterwards. A spreadsheet adds typing but gives you totals. An app is marked once and parents can see it. What each format costs a teacher and the office, and what a parent ever gets to see.
Read the guideACH or Card for Weekend Islamic School Tuition: The Fees Compared
One $60 monthly tuition payment worked through on Stripe's published US rates for ACH bank debit and cards, then across a school year, with what a failed ACH payment and a dispute cost.
Read the guideSpreadsheets or Madrasa Management Software: When to Switch
A spreadsheet is fine for a list of names and classes. It cannot collect a fee, remind a parent or show who changed a figure. The jobs each one does, the signs a madrasa has outgrown its spreadsheet, what the Charity Commission and the ICO expect, and the questions to ask a supplier before moving.
Read the guideCard or Direct Debit: What Each Costs a Madrasa on a £40 Monthly Fee
On a £40 monthly fee, a standard UK card payment through Stripe costs the madrasa 80p and a Bacs Direct Debit costs 40p. A worked breakdown of Stripe's published UK rates on one fee and across a year, plus what disputes, refunds and very small or very large payments cost.
Read the guideHow to Set Up Direct Debit for Madrasa Fees
Four things have to be in place before the first Direct Debit collection: a mandate from each parent, a collection date that allows for the Bacs timeline, notice of every debit, and a plan for failed payments. A step by step guide for madrasa admins in the UK, with the timings from Stripe's own documentation.
Read the guideHow to collect madrasa fees on time (without chasing parents)
The fee-collection playbook we use with a live UK madrasah — why cash and reminders fail, and what actually gets fees paid in the first week of the month.
Read the guide