STEVE Taylor, the leader of the Cabot Learning Federation education trust, has been knighted in the New Year’s Honours list.
The honour is in recognition of his work to ‘tackle educational inequality’ in the South West.
Mr Taylor has been chief executive officer of CLF for 11 years. The trust has grown to 36 schools, including John Cabot Academy, King’s Oak Academy, Hanham Woods Academy, Digitech Studio School, Bristol Brunel Academy, City Academy Bristol and Bristol Metropolitan Academy.
CLF schools have seen dramatic improvement under Mr Taylor’s leadership, as the trust has earned a positive reputation for taking on struggling schools and supporting them to improve.
Mr Taylor has instilled a values-led approach to the trust, which places equity at its heart as it aims to ensure all students are supported to achieve lifelong success irrespective of any disadvantage they may face.
Outside of the CLF, Mr Taylor is an active participant in local, regional and national networks designed to strengthen UK education for the benefit of all children, and has held a number of advisory and governance roles within the sector. He is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, an inspector for Ofsted, and holds an honorary Doctor of Education degree from UWE Bristol.