Our founders
Who founded STEER Education?
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STEER Education, which developed the mental health and wellbeing tool STEER Tracking, was founded by Dr Jo Walker and Dr Simon Walker.
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Dr Simon Walker, D Prof, MTh, MA (Oxon), BTh, MBPsS, APECS
Simon studied Biology at Oxford University from 1990-93. He returned to Oxford to complete a BTh and then a MTh focusing on psychology and sociology before being awarded his professional doctorate from the University of Winchester in 2014. Simon is a qualified coach, accredited member of APECS, an accredited member of The British Psychological Society and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education.
He taught at Wycliffe Hall, part of Oxford University, from 2003-2009. He is the author of the highly rated leadership trilogy, The Undefended Leader, along with several peer reviewed articles in the fields of psychology and theology. He developed the concept of steering cognition and the seven factor model Human Ecology Theory.
Simon co-founded STEER in 2011 from a conviction that the road of adolescence was getting harder for young people to navigate. As a psychologist, Simon knew that the earlier schools could identify students with emerging mental health concerns, the better the chance of reducing its long-term negative impacts. As an influential author of books on leadership, Simon also believes passionately that the soft skills young people develop during their education, such as resilience, agency, emotional and social agility, will influence their long-term life and career opportunities.
Simon co-developed STEER Tracking with Jo Walker, publishing their work in The Open Psychology Journal 2024.
Dr Jo Walker, DProf, BA Hons, (Dunhelm), QTS, NPQA
Jo Walker studied English at Durham University before training to be a teacher. She taught in London and Oxford before working as a Local Authority Advisor on BESD (Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties). In that time she also qualified as an executive coach before becoming a Deputy Head in inner city Oxford. She was awarded her professional doctorate from the University of Winchester in 2016 for her contribution to the field of adolescent self-regulation.
Dr Jo Walker co-founded STEER in 2011 out of 20 years’ experience as a Deputy Head. From her work with vulnerable students and families, Jo knew that schools lacked the tools to identify students before those risks escalated to a crisis. She founded STEER to enable schools to act earlier, reduce those risks and improve educational outcomes for all students. She believes passionately that young people are most often helped by teachers who know them best and that teachers need to be equipped with the right tools to do that. She has presented her research in podcasts and forums.
Jo co-developed STEER Tracking with Simon Walker, publishing their work in The Open Psychology Journal 2024.
