About Steven
Steven Horsley is an educational designer and consultant who helps schools ignite excellence through curiosity, coherence, and creativity.
Early in his career, Steven worked under an inspirational headteacher who showed remarkable bravery in an era of increasingly prescriptive curriculum guidance. From him, Steven learnt that when teachers feel passionate about what they teach — when they’re trusted to be creative, excited, and the best versions of themselves — pupils thrive.
It worked. And it still works today - especially when leaders apply those same principles to how they work with their teams.
That formative experience shaped Steven’s conviction that education should be both thoughtful and joyful. Over the years, he has led curriculum and leadership design across schools, trusts, and national networks — helping professionals rediscover the creative heart of their mission.
His work blends deep understanding of curriculum and pedagogy with human-centred systems thinking. Whether supporting inclusion frameworks, leadership development, or intelligent innovation through AI, Steven’s focus remains constant: to create learning cultures where curiosity drives coherence and creativity ignites genuine excellence.
ABOUT US
Curiosity. Coherence. Creativity. Excellence
At the heart of life, learning and leadership
At Igniting Excellence, we work with schools and trusts to design learning and leadership systems that are curious, coherent and creatively allive.
Our belief is simple: education flourishes when people are trusted to think deeply, explore boldly, and connect purposefully.
What we aim to do
Igniting Excellence exists to help schools:
- build coherent curriculum frameworks that connect big ideas, pedagogy, and purpose;
- grow reflective, compassionate leadership rooted in curiosity rather than compliance;
- design inclusive cultures where engagement and belonging drive achievement; and
- explore intelligent innovation, including AI, with creativity and ethical confidence.
We believe that excellence isn’t a checklist — it’s a living relationship between people, ideas, and purpose.
Our approach
We don’t offer off-the-shelf solutions.
Instead, we work with you to uncover the questions that matter, to design frameworks that make sense in your world, and to create learning experiences that are structured, joyful, and full of heart.
Together, we turn professional curiosity into purposeful action — helping schools and trusts not just to perform, but to flourish.
Great education begins with people - with curiosity, courage and the desire to make a difference
Every partnership begins with curiosity, grows through collaboration, and leads to learning that feels authentically alive with purpose.