About the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE)
About ACE
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, particulalry where there are problems. We were founded in 1960 by Michael Young, Lord Young of Dartington.
ACE's Vision
A fair education system for all.
ACE's Mission
ACE’s mission as a registered charity is to promote fairness and opportunity in education.
We work to:
- Empower parents and carers
- Encourage changes in education law and policy
- Promote good practice in the education system
for the benefit of all children, young people and families.
ACE's Values
ACE believes that is essential to be:
Independent
The advice, information and training we give is accurate, impartial and not subject to the political climate of the day.
Expert
We draw on over 45 years of work in the education field. Our team of advisers have an unrivalled understanding of education law, policy and practice and how they impact on children and families.
Responsive
Our day-to-day contact with parents and carers is at the heart of all we do. We develop our services according to the needs of families and changes to law, policy and practice.
Proactive
We work to improve education law, policy and practice as they affect the rights and experiences of parents, carers and children.
Collaborative/co-operative
We work in partnership with others to improve the education system for children. We believe that parents and carers, children, schools, governors, local authorities and government should all be equal partners in education.
Inclusive
We give parents and carers the information and strategies they need to support their child at school. We have a particular commitment to reach out to the marginalised and those who find themselves excluded from the system.
Accessible
We use straightforward language which is designed to simplify the complexities of the education system and make it understandable to everyone.
Who Are We?
ACE Council Members (Trustee Board)
Margaret Tulloch (Chair)
Margaret Tulloch worked on the taxonomy of microscopic fungi before having a family. Campaigning about school meals and the need for a local mixed comprehensive in the early '80s started her interest in education campaigning. She was on the national executive of the Campaign for State Education for 16 years, much of it as a spokesperson. She is secretary of Comprehensive Future, a group campaigning for fair admissions, a trustee of RISE (Research and Information on State Education) which informs about and researches on state education and a secondary school governor in the London Borough of Merton.
Geoff Berridge
Geoff Berridge has a commercial background having worked for a large IT company in a variety of management roles. Since 2000 he has worked independently as a consultant specialising in business development, organisational and business change and training. This is provided for organisations and individuals and often involves the use of technology to support the outcomes for clients. Part of his present work is to support the delivery of learning, information and advice systems and applications to schools, colleges and universities.Geoff is Chair of Governors at a large community school in Camden. He is a director and trustee of several charities in north London. These positions give him an insight into the needs of families and young people. He is also a non executive director of Brent Primary Care Trust.
Gabriela Daniels
Gabriela completed a cosmetics science and technology degree in Bulgaria. She worked in the cosmetic and affiliated industries in the UK for 10 years before joining the world of Higher Education in 1999. Currently Gabriela teaches specialist subjects in the University of the Arts London whilst maintaining active industry links. She is a member of professional associations such as the Society of Cosmetic Scientists and OU MBA Alumni Association. As a parent of two young boys, she is passionate about fair access to education for all - from the early years to university.
Ron Glatter
Ron Glatter has admired ACE’s unique and vital work since its earliest days. He was Professor and Director of the centre for Educational Policy and Management at The Open university for many years. He was national Chair of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS), is now Honorary Vice-President and in 2007 received the Society’s Distinguished Service Award. He has been active internationally and in late 2007 was the Opening Keynote Speaker at a European Union Presidency conference in Lisbon on ‘Schools facing up to new challenges’.
Alan Gottleib
Alan Gottlieb is a specialist in personal taxation. He currently works for a firm of Accountants having started his career with Revenue & Customs. He has a particular interest in the education of children with SEN as he has a son with ASD. He is very aware of the difficulties facing families of disabled children. Over many years he has actively campaigned for the improvement of educational facilities for such children.
Rob Honeybourne
Rob Honeybourne worked for many years for a leading multi-national pharmaceutical company, retiring as its UK Commercial Director and Country Manager for the Republic of Ireland. He became involved in education in the UK as a parent of two children, and was the Chair of their primary school PTA, and a Parent Governor of both of their secondary schools. During a time of unrest in England between the teaching profession and the then government, he founded an organisation which provided a platform in his borough for discussions between parents, teacher organisations and local and national government. He is committed to supporting the parental view point in education.
Helen Rimmington
Solicitor. Director of Education Department at Children's Legal Centre 1997- 2001. Undertaken international work for Children and Armed Conflict Unit at Essex University. Author of numerous publications on education law including chapters on exclusion and special educational needs Butterworth's Education Law Manual.
Appointed 1999 as Chair of Special Educational Needs Tribunal. Appointed 2006 as Immigration Judge for Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Academic Qualifications: BA International History, London School of Economics. Masters in Law London School of Economics(2004)
Katy Simmons
Katy Simmons has been a teacher, lecturer and researcher, both in the UK and in the USA. She currently works as a lecturer in Inclusive Education at the Open University, where she researches, writes and runs courses for undergraduate and graduate students. She has also worked in the voluntary sector, where she advised and represented parents of children with special educational needs and headed up the 'Rights at Risk' campaign, that successfully worked to retain legal entitlement for children with disabilities. She is the chair of governors at a secondary school.
Macrina Otieno
Macrina has twenty years experience in investment and is currently working as a Director and Equity Trader at UBS Asset Management. Within the investment industry she has been a member of the steering committees for the Parent, Women and Multicultural Resources networks. She has previously been aTrustee Board member and Director of two voluntary sector education organisations, and has been a mentor and coach for peers and for young people. Macrina is passionate about improving the education provision for parents and on the work of ACE.
Linda Redford
Linda Redford is Director, Development and Public Affairs at Treehouse. Treehouse is a national charity for autism education. Treehouse campaigns for improved services for children with autism and runs a pioneering special school for children in North London. Linda has more than 35 years experience working in education services and policy. She has worked in education for many years as a teacher, local authority advisor and inspector, as well as being a school governor. Linda has held several posts in the voluntary sector including at NCH and I CAN. She is a member of the SEN and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) and the Care Stabdards Tribunal.
Chief Executive
Simon Hepburn MA, PGCert, ACQI
Simon Hepburn became ACE's first Chief Executive, at the end of November 2007. Simon joined ACE from The Children’s Society, where he was an Assistant Director and where he had worked for over twelve years in a range of operational and strategic positions. Prior to joining The Children's Society, he worked in a varity of youth, education and community development roles working with long term unemployed and dissaffected groups, supporting them to gain education, employment and training.
Simon was the founder/Director of the Adisa Organisation which specialised in developing strategies to engage disengaged young people and parents. He is a member of the BBC Charity Appeals Advisory Committee, a visiting lecturer at the University of Greenwich on the MA in Educational Management and is a vice chair of Governors at his daughters school.
Why is ACE different?
We are unique in having day to day contact with parents all over the country on a whole range of issues. This wide expertise is valued by parents as children’s problems rarely relate to just one issue.
In 2004 we spoke to over 5,800 parents and over 27,000 more downloaded advice from our website. Hearing parents describe their experiences gives ACE privileged access to how education law and practice impacts on children and parents, and allows us to speak with authority on behalf of parents facing difficulties with the education system.
We are working to make ACE services available as widely as possible. Our helplines are freephones, giving equal access to parents throughout the country and we receive funding to send out some of our materials free of charge to parents. We are encouraging access through local advisers trained through our Education Step-by-Step project, help which is targeted particularly at minority ethnic groups, refugees and 
disadvantaged families.
ACE belongs to adviceuk (formerly the Federation of Independent Advice Centres (FIAC)), and the Telephone Helplines Association (THA), for which a number of quality measures have to be in place. We also hold the Community Legal Service's Quality Mark for general help.
