The chief executive of a large multi-academy trust and a professor of social mobility are among many leaders associated with schools who have been recognised in the New Year Honours.
Steve Taylor, chief executive officer of Cabot Learning Federation (which has 35 schools in the South West), has been knighted for services to education. He is also chair of the Queen Street Group, a network of major academy trusts.
Sonia Blandford, professor of social mobility at Plymouth Marjon University, has been appointed Dame for services to education. She has previously written for Vlog
Along with Sir Steve, many other MAT leaders have been honoured for their services to education.
Anita Bath, chief executive officer of the 39-school Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, has been appointed OBE. Other OBEs include Simon Elliott, CEO of The Community Schools Trust (six schools), and Rachel Wilkes, CEO of Humber Education Trust (17 schools).
The CEOs of the 37-school Greenshaw Learning Trust, William Smith, and Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust (30 schools), Brendan Tapping, have also been appointed OBE.
Vanessa Langley, headteacher at Arbourthorne Community Primary School in Sheffield, has also been appointed MBE for services to education.
She is joined by Karen Ratcliffe, headteacher at Harton Primary School, South Shields, and Michael Loncaster, headteacher at Molescroft Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire.
Sir Steve said he was “extremely grateful” for the honour.
“Since learning of this award, I have thought about all those colleagues in the Cabot Learning Federation [CLF] and in the wider sector, whose work and successes have inspired me over the years to strive to do my best for the children we serve.”
He added: “Anything I would count as an achievement has come about as the result of working in collaboration with great people I have had the privilege of knowing, in the CLF and beyond.”
School sector figures in the 2026 New Year Honours list
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Professor Sonia Blandford. Professor of social mobility, Plymouth Marjon University. For services to education. (Corsham, Wiltshire)
Knights Bachelor
Dr Steve Taylor. Chief executive officer, Cabot Learning Federation. For services to education. (Nailsea, Somerset)
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Ronald Armour. Interim permanent secretary, Department of Education, Northern Ireland Civil Service. For public service. (Belfast)
Dr Lynne Barnes. Principal lecturer, University of Lancashire. For services to education. (Preston, Lancashire)
Colin Booth. Lately chief executive, Luminate Education Group, Yorkshire. For services to further education. (Newton Aycliffe, County Durham)
Professor Teresa Cremin. Professor of education, the Open University. For services to education. (Etchingham, East Sussex)
Shazia Hussain. Director of children’s social care, Department for Education. For services to children and families. (London, Greater London)
Deborah Jones. Lately executive director of children, families and education services, Croydon Council. For services to children, young people and families. (Banbury, Oxfordshire)
Heather Sandy. Executive director of children’s services, Lincolnshire County Council. For services to education. (Louth, Lincolnshire)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Anita Bath. Chief executive officer, Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. For services to education. (County Durham)
Jonathan Bishop. Chief executive officer and executive headteacher, The Cornerstone Academy Trust, Devon. For services to education. (Cullompton, Devon)
Carol Copstick. Head of inspection, HM Inspectorate, Education Scotland. For services to education. (Paisley, Renfrewshire)
Simon Elliott. Chief executive officer, Community Schools Trust. For services to education. (London)
Mohamed Isap. Chief executive, IN4 Group. For services to education. (Blackburn, Lancashire)
Julie Firth. Director of children’s services, North Tyneside Council, Tyne and Wear. For services to children, families and young people. (Bishop Auckland, County Durham)
Clare Flintoff. Lately chief executive officer, ASSET Education, Ipswich, Suffolk. For services to education. (Suffolk)
Linda Jones. Chief executive officer, Prospere Learning Trust. For services to education. (Wilmslow, Cheshire)
Professor Ruth-Anne Lenga. Associate professor, University College London, Institute of Education. For services to Holocaust Education. (London)
Angus Maclennan. Lately headteacher, e-Sgoil. For services to education and Gaelic. (Stornoway, Western Isles)
Carolyn Morgan. Lately chief executive officer, The Ascent Academies’ Trust, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. For services to special educational needs and disabilities. (Darlington, County Durham)
Dr Christopher Pritchard. Chair, Scottish Mathematical Council, secretary, James Clerk Maxwell Foundation, and lately president of The Mathematical Association. For services to mathematics education. (Callander, Stirling and Falkirk)
Gaynor Rennie. Lately headteacher, All Souls Church of England Primary School, Heywood, Lancashire. For services to education. (Rochdale, Greater Manchester)
Paul Rickeard. Ecumenical canon, Cathedral of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and chief executive officer, Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust, Tyne and Wear. For services to education. (Hexham, Northumberland)
Sara Russell. Principal and chief executive officer, Peter Symonds College, Hampshire. For services to further education. (Reading, Berkshire)
Dr Nikolaos Savvas DL. Chief executive officer, West Suffolk College, West Suffolk Trust, and Eastern Education Group, and principal, Abbeygate Sixth Form College, Suffolk. For services to further education. (Newmarket, Suffolk)
Timothy Sherriff. Vice-chair, Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors. For services to education. (Ormskirk, Lancashire)
Jeanette Smart. Lately development officer, Food for Thought Education Fund, Education Scotland. For services to food and health education. (Paisley, Renfrewshire)
William Smith. Chief executive officer and founder, Greenshaw Learning Trust. For services to education. (Witney, Oxfordshire)
Brendan Tapping. Chief executive officer, Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear. For services to education. (Seaham, County Durham)
Pauline Walmsley. Chief executive, Early Years - the organisation for young children. For services to education in Northern Ireland. (Enniskillen, County Fermanagh)
Victoria Wells. Lately director of sport, Youth Sport Trust, Loughborough, Leicestershire. For services to special educational needs and disabilities. (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire)
Rachel Wilkes. Chief executive officer, Humber Education Trust. For services to education. (Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire)
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Olusola Alabi. Director, Exam Success Education Centre. For services to education. (Purfleet, Essex)
Oluremi Atoyebi. Headteacher, Osmani Primary School, London Borough of Tower Hamlets. For services to education. (London)
David Barnes. Founder, the Strath‑Kenya Project - Strathallan School, Forgandenny. For services to children and young people in Perthshire and Kenya. (Perth)
Catherine Barnett. Lately headteacher, Eveswell and Somerton Primary Schools Partnership, Newport. For services to education. (Newport, Gwent)
Helen Bingham. Early years practitioner, Aspire Academy Trust, St Austell, Cornwall. For services to early years education. (Liskeard, Cornwall)
Rebecca Bollands. Headteacher, Earlsdon Primary School, Coventry. For services to cultural education in the West Midlands. (Kenilworth, Warwickshire)
Mervin Cato. Head of secondary behaviour support service, Enfield Council. For services to education. (London)
Judith Charlesworth. Lately chair, Barnet Special Education Trust, London. For services to education. (Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire)
Eileen Clark. Vice-chair, Pickwick Academy Trust Board and Chair, School Improvement Committee. For services to education. (Bath, Somerset)
Lucy Conley. Lately chief executive officer, South Lincolnshire Academies Trust. For services to education. (Stamford, Lincolnshire)
Kathryn Anne Crewe-Read. Lately headteacher, Bishop’s Stortford College. For services to education. (Bridgnorth, Shropshire)
Edison David. Executive headteacher, Granton Primary School, London Borough of Lambeth. For services to education. (London)
Jacqueline Dellar. Lately chief executive officer, Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust. For services to education. (Maidenhead, Berkshire)
Andrea English. Lately executive headteacher, North and South West Durham Learning Federation. For services to education. (Spennymoor, County Durham)
Margaret Fisher. Lately chair of governors, Dorridge Primary School. For services to education. (Solihull, West Midlands)
Alan Foster. Governor, Wilberforce Sixth Form College, Yorkshire. For services to further education. (Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire)
Fiona George. Trustee, Rumbletums Community Cafe, Kimberley, Nottinghamshire. For services to special educational needs. (Nottinghamshire)
Beth Gibson. Head of attendance and inclusive pathways, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands. For services to education. (Nuneaton, Warwickshire)
David Gurney. Chief executive officer, Cockburn Multi-Academy Trust, Leeds, Yorkshire. For services to education. (Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Moyra Hendry. Primary adviser, Moray Council Education Department and formerly headteacher at Cullen Primary School, Moray. For services to education. (Buckie, Banffshire)
David Hudson. Lately headteacher, Royal Latin School, Buckinghamshire. For services to education. (Oxfordshire)
Amanda King. Early years strategic lead, Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council. For services to early years education. (Coventry, Warwickshire)
Vanessa Langley. Headteacher, Arbourthorne Community Primary School, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. For services to education. (Sheffield)
Neil Lewis. Co‑founder, Tiny Toes Nursery, Southampton, Hampshire. For services to early years education. (Brecon, Powys)
Sasha Lewis. Co‑founder, Tiny Toes Nursery, Southampton, Hampshire. For services to early years education. (Brecon, Powys)
Michael Loncaster. Lately headteacher, Molescroft Primary School, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. For services to education. (Hull)
Evan Morgans. Lately director of education and children’s services, Carmarthenshire. For services to education and to the Dolen Cymru Lesotho Charity. (Carmarthen, Dyfed)
Dr Kevin Palmer. Deputy director of professional learning, pedagogy and leadership, Welsh government. For services to education. (Usk, Gwent)
Elizabeth Purdy. Business support officer, Education Authority Northern Ireland. For services to education and to the Girls’ Brigade. (Ballymena, County Antrim)
Karen Ratcliffe. Lately headteacher, Harton Primary School, South Shields, Tyne and Wear. For services to education. (South Shields, Tyne and Wear)
Jay Bobby Seagull. Teacher, author and broadcaster. For services to public libraries. (London)
Kylie Spark. Chief executive officer, Inspiring Learners Multi-Academy Trust, Cheshire. For services to education. (Altrincham, Greater Manchester)
Georgina Stafford. Senior teacher, Rumworth School, Bolton, Greater Manchester. For services to education. (Bolton)
John Towers. Headmaster, Barrow Hills School, Godalming, Surrey. For services to education. (Surrey)
Rachael Warwick. Lately chief executive officer, Ridgeway Education Trust, Oxfordshire. For services to education. (Bampton, Oxfordshire)
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Jake Armstrong. Careers leader, Addey and Stanhope School, London Borough of Lewisham. For services to education. (London)
Amila Begumahmed (Amila Ahmed). Teaching assistant, Cyril Jackson Primary, London Borough of Tower Hamlets. For services to education. (London)
Kelly Clarke. Inclusion manager, Hanson Academy, Bradford. For services to education. (Halifax, West Yorkshire)
Ruth Flynn. Director of sixth form, La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls School, London Borough of Lambeth. For services to further education. (London)
Emma Green. Nursery manager, The Little Lane Nursery, Stamford. For services to early years education. (Stamford, Lincolnshire)
Frances Hill. Caretaker, John Ruskin School, Coniston, Cumbria. For services to education. (Cumbria)
John Johnson. Volunteer, Wolverhampton Grammar School, West Midlands. For services to education. (Wolverhampton)
Susan Marshall. For services to education and to the community in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. (Somerset)
Bhajan Matharu. Assistant headteacher, Deanesfield Primary School, London Borough of Hillingdon. For services to education and early years. (London)
Clare McCullagh. Nursery director, Rosedene Nurseries Limited. For services to early years education. (Northallerton, North Yorkshire)
John McMurran. Building supervisor, Donaghadee Primary School. For services to education and to the community in Donaghadee. (Newtownards, County Down)
Susan Nichols. Deputy manager, Fledglings Day Nursery, Solihull. For services to early years education. (West Midlands)
Indra Perera. Early years leader, Rainbow House, London. For services to early years education. (London)
Lisa Riding. Head of the speech and communication specialist resource, St Thomas à Becket Secondary School, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. For services to education. (Wakefield)
Cindy Sutcliffe. Inclusion manager, Hanson Academy, Bradford, West Yorkshire. For services to education. (Bradford)
Jennifer Turner. School crossing patrol. For services to road safety. (Southport, Merseyside)
John Warren. Nursery director, Kingsway Nursery Group, London, and managing director and freelance consultant, John Warren Consultancy. For services to early years and education. (London)
Brenda Wright. Volunteer, St Issey Church of England Primary School, Wadebridge, Cornwall. For services to education. (Cornwall)
