Biography

Ust Yusuf has an FdSc in Psychology for Education Professionals from Birkbeck (Merit), a BEd in Working with Children: Education & Wellbeing from UCL’s Institute of Education (I), and an MSc in Anthropology of Childhood, Youth & Education (Dist.) from Brunel University. Yusuf is currently reading for a DPhil at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education. His current research explores the role of values pedagogy, Islamic psychology and Islamic educational philosophy to understand 'teacher presence' in the classroom. He is also keen to develop a pastoral framework rooted in Islamic values for Muslim faith schools in the UK.

Alongside this, Yusuf is a Qualified Quran teacher who trained in Alexandria, Egypt in 2011. He holds Ijazat in the various canonical readings. Whilst working as a Faith Lead for Star Academies, Yusuf trained as a psychotherapeutic school counsellor at the Tavistock Clinic (NHS) and gained a PGDip in Islamic Psychology from CMC (Cambridge Muslim College). Whilst teaching Islamic Studies – across all phases - in the UAE for 3 years at two British International schools, Yusuf acquired his NPQLT (National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching) with UCL, allowing him to become Head of Department for Islamic Studies at one of Dubai’s highest performing British International Schools. Meanwhile, parallel to his work in the classroom, Yusuf also worked alongside a UK-based NGO on international educational development programmes in the regions of West Africa and The Levant. He has travelled to The Gambia and Turkey to contribute on teacher training and curriculum development programmes for Islamic Studies.