Over the past ten years or so, Steven has made an outstanding contribution to the MA, with his commitment, expertise and intellectual energy greatly enriching its educational and scholarly ethos. I am really delighted to see him take on the role of Executive Director of this newly established Centre. The Centre could not be in more capable hands, and I look forward with great interest to seeing its work develop and to the new ideas, initiatives and collaborations that will emerge from it.
Dr Anwar Tlili, Director of the MA Education in Arts & Cultural Settings
01 October 2026
King's Visiting Lecturer and Researcher to lead new National Centre for Arts Education
Dr Steven Berryman, who has been over the last ten years affiliated to King's College London as Visiting Research Fellow and Lecturer, has been appointed Executive Director of the new National Centre for Arts Education (NCAE), a Department for Education initiative to widen young people's access to high-quality arts education in schools.
This appointment, and the mission of the Centre that Dr Berryman will be leading, align strongly with the core concerns and objectives of the MA Education in Arts & Cultural Settings, an MA programme that Dr Berryman has already made valuable contributions to designing and delivering.
The Centre will be delivered by education organisation Etio, with Birmingham City University as research partner and the Chartered College of Teaching overseeing quality assurance. Arts Council England will help the Centre build links across the cultural education sector. Delivery is expected to begin as soon as November 2026, with the Centre supporting more than 10,000 schools in underserved areas.
NCAE will champion art and design, dance, drama and music through four priorities: professional development for teachers, promoting arts education, overseeing the Music Hubs network, and providing national strategic leadership and philanthropic coordination. By connecting schools with cultural organisations and Music Hubs, it aims to make high-quality arts education easier to access and sustain, and to show pupils and families how arts learning links to qualifications, further study and creative careers.
An educational leader, researcher and music educator, Dr Berryman said the Centre will address inequality of opportunity at a time when fewer young people are taking creative subjects. He added that he looks forward to working with schools and the cultural sector to "ensure an excellent arts education is possible for every school."
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Visiting Research Fellow