The Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) is a national charity that provides independent advice for parents and carers of children aged 5-16 in state-funded education. ACE aims to provide the information, support and high-quality advice that parents need to help their children at school, particularly where there are problems.
The History
Ace was founded in London in 1960 by Michael Young, Lord Young of Dartington, a voluntary sector entrepreneur, and Brian Jackson, a respected and influential sociologist of education.
The organisation moved to Cambridge in the late 60s in a '£1 a week room in the backstreets of Cambridge'.
Michael's wife, Sasha was the first editor of WHERE?, as its ACE's magazine was then called. It built on the striking success of WHICH? magazine which gave a a helpful puff to its education sister.
ACE's advice line has always been more than an information service to parents and has acted as an early warning system, monitoring the impact of policy on provision and thec workings of the system.
Even in the earliest days the open door advice service was seen as having an information gathering function. What you read in the education papers on a Friday, ACE will have been aware six months earlier.
Throughout its history ACE has engaged in a variety of voluntary sector developmental initiatives and educational projects. ACE took a view that there were serious gaps in the educational provision and meeting particular needs and wanted to demonstrate how could be filled with innovative projects.
Examples of the project that were established included,
- The Technical College Clearing House
- The Home and School Council
- The ACE Nursery School
- The Association of Multi-Racial Playgroups
- The National Extension College
- Advice Service for Ugandan Refugees
- The Priority Project (Education priority areas)
Some of these projects and initiatives later evolved into well established institutions. The Open University being an obvious example.
