As NCSL’s chief executive, Steve’s role is to set the College’s strategic direction. He was formerly director of Education and Lifelong Learning at Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, where his work was widely commended. Steve began his career as a secondary school teacher in Birmingham, later moving to the north east of England, where he worked as a teacher and then as a lecturer. In 1987, he became a consultant on assessment and records of achievement working for the nine north east local authorities, before taking up a post at Oldham Borough Council in 1989 as an inspector within the education department. In Oldham, he went on to manage the Advisory Service before moving to Blackburn with Darwen as assistant director in 1997. From 2000 to March 2005, he was director of Education and Lifelong Learning in Knowsley.