| We are an independent charity whose role is to be a centre of information, support, and training for parents and professionals in the use of technology for young people in education who have communication difficulties, both in speaking and/or writing.
What we do
The 15 staff at the centre maintain a wide variety of services in addition to the core activities of independent assessment and training. We are involved in a number of national and international research projects, we lobby on behalf of those with communication difficulties, and we act as a dissemination centre for an extensive range of AAC information. Much of the work we do contributes to our software development and publications material.
Are we truly independent?
Our principle is to have no particular company or product interests to promote, including our own software and publications. If we have to evaluate a service or product we do so purely on the basis of our own professional opinion and experience of its merits.
Catchment Area
The Oxford ACE Centre generally covers assessment referrals and training for the south of the England and Wales. Our sister centre, ACE Centre North, covers the north of England. There are other similar centres around the UK that offer assessment and training services - see our resources page for details.
Who we are
The staff comprises teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists and technical experts with extensive experience in working with the application of technology to alternative and augmentative communication. See our staff profile page for more details.
Where are we?
The ACE Centre is located on the site of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre on the Eastern Outskirts of Oxford. We've provided details of how to get here by coach, rail or road on our location page. There's also a local map to download, if you need it.
History of the ACE Centre
The ACE Centre was founded in 1984 at the Ormerod Special School in Oxford, UK by the government-funded NCET program. Since then the Centre's size and remit has grown to the extent that we have moved into The Wooden Spoon Building, in April 1999.
How are we funded?
We were originally government-funded by MESU, which merged with CET to become NCET - which in turn became BECTa. We have emerged from the acronym forest to become a registered charity, partly funded by the DfEE (Department for Education and Employment) via BECTa, and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. The balance is provided by the sterling work done by our fundraisers.
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