News

ACE continues vital work despite loss of funding

You may have read that the Department for Education recently announced £11 million to fund online and telephone family support services. As the major provider of telephone support to families on education matters, ACE was disappointed not to receive funding as part of this programme. We wish our successful colleagues well in their undertakings

ACE remains very much in business advising parents on all aspects of state education. We continue to operate a free advice line and offer free information via our website. We believe that the extent of our expertise in unique. Many of our callers face complex situations involving perhaps special educational needs and exclusion or bullying and school admissions. No other organisation offers parents a one-stop shop, whatever education issue they are dealing with.

Despite reduced funding, ACE is committed to carrying on the work we have been doing for over 50 years in order to achieve our vision of a fair education system. Please support us as we continue to try to reach as many families as possible.

Education Act 2011 - no suprises

The Education Bill received Royal Assent on the 15th November. We are looking at the Act 2011 in detail. Firat impressions are that sadly, the Department for Education has not taken on board some of the views we expressed when the Bill was first published and very little has changed.

ACE remains concerned about

• The extension of powers to search pupils without consent
• The abolition of independent appeal panels with the power to reinstate permanently excluded pupils

ACE welcomes some of the changes regarding school admissions:

• Anyone can now refer an objection to school admission arrangements to the Schools Adjudicator
• Academies will now also come under the remit of the Schools Adjudicator

As we check the provisions of the Act in detail we'll add more updates