UmmahNest — Online Islamic School
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Founding cohort · Now enrolling

An education that grows the mind and the heart.

A small, live Islamic school blending a global curriculum — Canadian, British and American standards — with Qur'an, Arabic and tarbiyah, in classes of eight where every child is truly known.

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UmmahNest — Identity is not optional. The world won't wait to shape them. Balanced academics, comprehensive tarbiyah, a global community sanctuary.
Tarbiyah-centred Safeguarded & vetted faculty Live, recorded, catch-up ready Cohorts grouped by time zone
UmmahNest — Identity is not optional. Balanced academics, comprehensive tarbiyah, a global community sanctuary.

Our approach

A different kind of online school.

Not a traditional classroom squeezed onto a screen — a Waldorf-inspired, nature-integrated, experiential education with the deen at its centre.

Tarbiyah at the centre

Character, adab and a living attachment to the Qur'an run through every subject — not bolted on at the end of the day.

Waldorf-inspired & hands-on

An unhurried rhythm, real-world projects and time away from the screen. Children learn by doing, making and exploring.

Known by name

Eight children to a class. The teacher learns each child's level and personality in week one — so no one hides, and no one is left behind.

0:1
Student–teacher ratio
0
Live days each week
0
Countries our teachers call home
Sept 0
Founding intake

Pathways & weekly rhythm

Exactly what your child studies.

Live, teacher-led classes. Three pathways — a full academic program, full-time Hifz, or a weekend program for children already in day school.

Pathway 1 · Grades 1–8

Core Academic

Mathematics, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies taught to global standards — drawing on the Canadian, British and American curricula rather than one rigid system — with Qur'an, Arabic and Islamic studies woven through the week.

Mon–Thu · 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Pathway 2

Full-Time Hifz

A dedicated Qur'an memorization program under an Ijāzah-certified Hafidhah — tajwīd, structured revision cycles and an individual target for every child.

Mon–Thu · 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Pathway 3 · New

Weekend Program

For children already in day school: Qur'an with native Egyptian teachers and live tajwīd, plus Islamic studies taught through hands-on, Waldorf-inspired project work — in the same class of eight.

Weekends · now enrolling

Mathematics
Daily
Language Arts
Daily
Qur'an — Nazrah
3× weekly
Science
2× weekly
Social Studies
Weekly
Arabic
Weekly
Islamic Studies
Weekly
This is the Core Academic week. Live classes run 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM in your cohort's time zone; enrichment and project work happen off-screen. Hifz and Weekend timetables are confirmed on your placement call.
“ Tarbiyah isn't a subject we teach at the end of the day. It's the thread running through every lesson — the reason a child grows in knowledge and in heart at once.

Sundus Ali · Founder & Principal

Not a concept — a practice

This is what her classroom already looks like.

UmmahNest did not begin on a slide deck. Sundus has spent her career in front of real children — planning the lessons, marking the work, building the wall. This is that classroom: Islamic civilisation studied through art, science explained in a child's own handwriting, and a reading culture built on purpose.

A classroom display wall covered in children's project work: mosques of Cordoba and Istanbul, Islamic universities, science posters and profiles of the Sahaba
One term, one wall. Al-Azhar, Córdoba, the Islamic University of Madinah, refraction of light, frogs, the Sahaba — history, science and deen side by side, because that is how a child actually sees the world.
A child's watercolour of the Mosque of Cordoba with handwritten notes about the Emir and the 8th century
The Mosque of Córdoba. Painted, then explained in the child's own words — “the Emir wanted to outshine Byzantium and Baghdad.”
A child's watercolour and handwritten report about sea turtles
Science, written not copied. Research, illustration and a paragraph in the child's own hand — how we teach non-fiction.
A child's poster about different types of metals with real samples attached and a reference to Surah Al-Hadeed
Real objects, real learning. Copper, iron, steel, nickel, aluminium — and a note that there is a surah named Al-Hadeed. Tarbiyah inside the science lesson, not after it.
A hand-made classroom poster titled Slow Reading Time listing reasons to read slowly
Slow Reading Time. An unhurried rhythm is a choice the teacher makes — “read not to finish, but to feel.”
A class of students holding up their acrylic paintings of a rainbow-leaved tree
One lesson, a dozen trees. Same brief, same colours — and every child's tree is unmistakably their own. That is what a small class makes room for.
Students at their desks holding up their drawings during show and tell
Show and tell. Children hold their work up proudly and explain it in their own words — the same thing they do to the camera in a live UmmahNest class.

The practical questions

How the day-to-day works.

Live, interactive classes

Teacher-led video with a shared whiteboard, breakout pairs and games. Cameras on during instruction — natural in a class of eight.

Showing written work

Children hold work to the camera, or photograph and upload it. Teachers mark it and reply with real feedback.

Homework that fits

Purposeful, light for the younger grades, posted with clear deadlines — so you always know what's due.

Support when it's needed

The small ratio catches a struggling child early. We adapt the task, add check-ins, and keep you in the loop.

Missed a class? Travelling?

Every session is recorded and posted the same day, with a quick teacher check-in to close any gaps.

Reports & assessment

Ongoing assessment through projects and participation, with a written progress report and parent meeting each term.

The people behind UmmahNest

Led by educators you can name.

Sundus Ali, Founder & Principal
Founder & Principal

Sundus Ali

A specialist in childhood education and psychology, Sundus leads UmmahNest's curriculum, faculty and family care — on the conviction that faith and academic excellence belong together.

BSc Family Relationship & Childhood Education MSc Psychology & Counselling Children's Mental Health · Canada Hifz Ijāzah · Egypt
Ali Wadood, Co-founder
Co-founder

Ali Wadood

Two decades leading enterprise technology and projects for Fortune 500 companies, now a tech founder bringing that rigour to the systems behind UmmahNest — so teachers can teach and parents stay effortlessly informed.

20+ years Enterprise IT Project Management Fortune 500 Tech Founder

A global faculty, carefully chosen

Our teachers are qualified, experienced Muslim educators across the UK, Canada, Pakistan and Egypt — every one background-checked and reference-verified before they ever meet a child.

🇬🇧 UK🇨🇦 Canada🇵🇰 Pakistan🇪🇬 Egypt
Safeguarded facultyEvery teacher background-checked, under a written safeguarding policy
14-day money-back guaranteeEnrol with confidence — a full refund in your first two weeks
Cancel anytimeSimple monthly billing — no lock-in, no long contracts

Founding-family tuition

Simple, honest pricing.

Simple monthly fees in US dollars, billed securely through Stripe — cancel any time, with a full refund inside your first 14 days.

Core Academic · Full-Time Hifz

$200 / month USD

+ $100 one-time registration & technology fee

  • All live classes, Monday–Thursday
  • Recordings, materials & class platform
  • Termly progress reports & parent meetings
  • Classes capped at eight children
Start enrollment Book a free call first

Nothing is charged until you have completed the application form and chosen your pathway. Tuition is billed monthly in advance and you can cancel from your own Stripe receipt at any time.

How enrollment works

  1. Apply — 3 minutesYour child's details, pathway and grade. No payment on this step.
  2. Secure the placeOne secure Stripe checkout sets up your monthly tuition — and the registration fee where it applies.
  3. Placement call & start dateThe Admission office will confirm the cohort, timings and time zone, and send your welcome pack.

Genuine financial hardship? In the spirit of sadaqah, we keep places open. Email admission@ummahnest.com before you pay.

Straight answers

Questions parents actually ask.

How do you keep children engaged — not bored on a screen?
Engagement comes from the small class and the teaching. With eight children, the teacher uses interactive whiteboard tasks, games for review, breakout pairs and hands-on projects, broken up with real movement breaks — deliberately balancing screen time with making and doing away from the camera.
What Islamic curriculum do you follow?
A balanced, mainstream program rooted in the Qur'an and Sunnah: Qur'an (nazrah, with a full-time hifz pathway), Arabic, and Islamic studies, with adab and tarbiyah woven through the ordinary school day. It's guided by our principal, who holds a Hifz Ijāzah from Egypt.
Who teaches my child, and how are teachers vetted?
Qualified, experienced Muslim educators across the UK, Canada, Pakistan and Egypt, led by principal Sundus Ali. Every teacher is background-checked (vulnerable-sector or equivalent) and reference-verified before meeting a child.
How will cameras, homework and showing written work happen?
Cameras on during instruction is a clear, agreed norm we set at onboarding — comfortable in a class of eight. Homework is purposeful and light for younger grades, posted with deadlines. Children show written work by holding it to the camera or photographing and uploading it for the teacher to mark.
What about accreditation and the move to Grade 9?
Transparently: this is our founding year. We teach to recognised international curriculum standards — drawn from the Canadian, British and American systems — while building toward formal accreditation, and we are not yet an accredited or government-licensed school. We say that plainly rather than let you discover it later. We provide termly report cards, transcripts and a portfolio — the documentation families use to register a homeschool and to enrol elsewhere later. Requirements vary by country, so we'll talk through your specific situation and put our current standing in writing for you.
The timezone question — KSA, North America, UK?
One class time can't serve Toronto and Riyadh at once, so we don't pretend otherwise — we form separate cohorts by region. Tell us where you are and your preferred hours on your call, and we'll place your child in the cohort that fits your day, or be honest if we're not the right fit yet.
How does billing work, and can I cancel?
Tuition is USD $200 per month for Core Academic and Full-Time Hifz, plus a one-time USD $100 registration and technology fee. The Weekend Program is USD $150 per month with no registration fee. Everything is billed automatically through Stripe's secure checkout — nothing to remember or transfer each month. You can cancel any time using the link on your Stripe receipt, and if we are not the right fit we refund your first 14 days in full.
Which curriculum do you actually follow?
A global one. Our teachers are trained across the Canadian, British and American systems, and we build each subject from the strongest material in each rather than importing one national syllabus wholesale — Singapore-style number sense in mathematics, a rich literature spine in Language Arts, inquiry-led science. It means a child arriving from a UK school and one arriving from a US school both recognise the ground under their feet, and both leave with a portfolio and transcript you can present anywhere.
What exactly is the Weekend Program?
It is for children who are already in a day school but whose Qur'an and Islamic studies keep losing to homework and tiredness. Qur'an is taught by native Egyptian teachers with live tajwīd correction, and Islamic studies runs as hands-on, Waldorf-inspired project work rather than worksheets — the same small class of eight, on the weekend instead of squeezed into a weekday evening. USD $150 per month with no registration fee. Classes are running now, so a child can join at the start of any month; exact hours are set per cohort to match your time zone and confirmed on your placement call.
How do I enrol, and what happens after I pay?
Three steps. First the application form — about three minutes, no payment. Then a single secure Stripe checkout for your pathway. Then the Admission office calls you within two working days to confirm the cohort, timings and start date, and sends your welcome pack with the class platform details. If we cannot place your child in a cohort that suits your time zone, we refund you in full — you are never left holding a payment for a class that doesn't exist yet.
What if we travel, or my child needs a homeschool letter of intent?
Travel is normal in our families' lives — every class is recorded for catch-up. Letter-of-intent rules differ by country and province; we provide enrolment and attendance records to support whatever your local requirement is, and we'd always point you to verify it locally.

Founding families · Now enrolling

Start with a conversation.

Tell us about your child and where you are. We'll set up a free call with the principal to answer your questions and find the right cohort — no payment to begin.

  • Speak with the principal directly, not a call centre
  • Honest advice on whether we fit your family
  • Founding cohorts are small and filling now

Already decided? Start the enrollment form

Book your free call

Pick a time that suits you — you'll speak with the principal directly. No payment to begin.

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