Dr Steven Berryman is a senior educational leader, composer, arts education practitioner and researcher, whose career spans school leadership, national professional body leadership, and scholarship in creative and cultural education. He completed his music studies at Cardiff University (BMus 2003; PhD in Composition, 2012) and Royal Holloway, University of London (MMus 2004). From 2022 to 2024 he served as President of the Chartered College of Teaching; he is a Founding Fellow and one of the first Chartered Teachers.

He is the Executive Director of the Department of Education’s National Centre for Arts Education. Steven has been a school leader, and he previously held executive roles across two multi-school trusts: Director of Creativity, Music & Culture at The Charter Trust (2022–2024), leading a trust-wide arts and cultural strategy across eight schools, and Trust Director, Central Education Team at Odyssey Trust (2020–2022). Earlier he was Director of Music at City of London School for Girls (2015–2020), seconded to the City of London Corporation's Education Strategy Unit, and Assistant Director of Music at North London Collegiate School and Clayesmore School, also teaching in the Junior Departments of the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban.

Steven has taught at the Royal College of Music and was ITT Subject Lead for Music at the University of Buckingham (2019–2024), supervising MEd and EdD candidates. He has served as Chief Examiner and Chair of Examiners for AQA GCSE Music, and is an Ofqual Music Subject Expert and UAL Subject Specialist. He sat on the DfE/DCMS panel that refreshed the National Plan for Music Education (2021–2022). As a composer, recent work includes a piano solo piece performed by Professor Ian Pace at City University (2023), the orchestral piece 'Cypher' (BBC National Orchestra of Wales, 2011), and the choral work 'Versa est in Luctum' (Washington, D.C., 2013). His international work includes CPD and leadership development across the Gulf and South-East Asia, including Dubai College and Tanglin Trust Singapore, and keynotes for FOBISIA and the Abu Dhabi Young Musician Competition.

Steven is a Liveryman of both the Worshipful Company of Educators and the Worshipful Company of Musicians.

Research 

Steven's research and practice address the leadership of cultural and creative education across school systems, including co-creation practices, curriculum design for sustained engagement with the arts, and the governance and safeguarding structures that support ethical educational leadership.

As a composer, Steven's work has included a wide range of projects. His orchestral piece 'Cypher' (2010) was selected by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for performance in their Welsh Composers Showcase and was performed by the orchestra on 18 February 2011, conducted by Jan Van Steen at BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay. Opera Holland Park commissioned transcriptions of Donizetti for a dance performance, 'Dance Holland Park' in June 2012 and other work for theatre includes Jamie Zubairi's one-man show 'Unbroken Line' (Ovalhouse December 2012) and 'Corpo: Lixa da Alma' (Cena Internacional Brasil, Rio de Janerio, June 2012).

His choral work 'Versa est in Luctum' was performed in Washington, D.C. January 2013 as part of the New Voices @ CUA Festival. In September 2016 a new work for community choir was performed by LSO Community Choir and students from City of London School for Girls as part of 'Old Street New Beginnings', celebrating fifty years since the joining of the St. Luke's and St. Giles' parishes.

With Royal Ballet and Opera Learning Steven assisted with re-writing the Fanfare competition (2015 - 2017) and has been a judge for the final entries for two years. In 2018 he was the Composer-Educator and led the workshops developing the finalist entries with students and the team of mentors. He has also acted as a consultant for 'Create and Sing Carmen', writing materials for teachers. Previously a member of the Create and Sing Steering Group and worked on the writing of ‘Create and Sing Hansel and Gretal’ in 2018-2019. Now he is a member of the Learning and Participation Committee.

For London Philharmonic Orchestra Education Dr Berryman wrote and presented a concert on an A-level Music set work with musicians from the orchestra (2017). In 2018/19 he wrote and presented short films on aspects of composing at GCSE for LPO suitable for teachers and students. For NMC Recordings he devised resources to assist with the teaching of composition (2016-2017) and a new app R:Strng (2017) and more recently on Professor Julian Philips work (2026). With researchers from Guildhall School (2016), he devised and led a project that connected with the 'Understanding Audiences' research group at Guildhall, investigating school-age students' attitudes to chamber music.

Teaching 

Dr Berryman currently teaches on the Creative Learning in Arts Organisations and Art, Culture & Education module for MA Education in Arts and Cultural Settings. 

Publications 

Berryman, S. (2023) 'Spaces for Learning', in Gibbons, S. et al., editors. Becoming a Teacher (6th edition). McGraw-Hill / Open University Press.

Berryman, S. (2023) 'Why Music Matters at the Coronation'. King's College London Blog, 5 April 2023.Berryman, S. (2022) Arts Professional Learning, in Power of Professional Learning Networks. John Catt.

Berryman, S. (2022) 'Schools at the Centre of Music Education: The Refreshed National Plan for Music Education'. Cultural Learning Alliance, 1 August 2022.

Berryman, S. (2018) ‘Knowledgeable Skills or Skilful Knowledge?’. Impact, Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, Issue 4. 

Berryman, S. 'Pre-Higher Education Creativity: Composition in Schools' in Haddon, E., & Burnard, Pamela, editors. (2016). Creative teaching for creative learning in higher music education. 

Terry, P., & Berryman, S., (2016) Edexcel GCSE music study guide, Rhinegold Education

Berryman, S., Doan, M., Guinane, D., (2016) OCR GCSE music study guide, Rhinegold Education

Berryman, S., (2014) 'Good in Theory? Steven Berryman compares and contrasts the ABRSM and TCL courses'. Music Teacher., 93(8), 29-31.

Berryman, S., (2011), 'Composing Across the Spectrum': Piano Professional Autumn 2011, Journal of the European Piano Teachers Association UK

Berryman, S., (2012), 'Voice from the Front: Short article responding to the Henley Review', Music Education UK Issue 3, September 2012. 

B͚erryman, S., (2009) 'A good composer does not imitate, he steals͛: Steven Berryman on composition in schools', Piano Professional Spring 2009, Journal of the European Piano Teachers Association UK.