Speakers and Contributors
Keynote Speaker
Stephen Steinhaus
CEO and co-founder Solihull Alternative Provision Multi-Academy Trust
After completing his degree in The Teaching of English and career as an American Football player at The University of Illinois (USA), Stephen Steinhaus turned down a professional wrestling contract to move as a Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom to study for an MPhil in Shakespeare Studies and English Literature at the University of Birmingham/Shakespeare Institute.
Having begun his teaching and music career(s) in Hawaii whilst completing an MA in Creative Writing, Steinhaus moved back to England from California and has now lived in the UK for over 26 years. In April 2018 he opened Solihull Academy (an Alternative Provision Free School for students in danger of Permanent Exclusion). The Academy converted to a Multi-Academy Trust in September 2022 and now works across the West Midlands and further afield.
In his free time, he is a singer and songwriter, music director and emcee of The Upton Blues Festival, band booker and presenter of a number of other music festivals, a founding trustee director of The Institute for Recovery from Childhood Trauma, and a published poet. He has written on a variety of educational and musical topics.
Workshop Providers
Ben Sellers
Ben is a teacher, trainer and researcher who specialises in inclusive practice and emerging technologies. Author of the ‘Teaching Music with GarageBand for iPad’ textbook, Ben is an Associate Musician at Drake Music, leads the MEHEM UpRising project, and has previously worked with organisations including the Tokyo and BBC Symphony Orchestras, German-Turkish Youth Bridge, and the Royal College of Music. He is currently undertaking UKRI-funded doctoral research at the UCL Institute of Education.
More to follow – watch this space!