Our Story
A paragraph about when and why ace Anglia started…..
Growing as an organisation
1st July 2022
Ace expanded their team from 8 members of staff to 23. We have grown as an organisation and are made up of individuals who are experts in their field.
The new Suffolk Advocacy Service
1st April 2022
Ace Anglia became part of the new Suffolk Advocacy Service. The partnership is made up of Pohwer and three long-established and experienced local providers, Ace Anglia, Suffolk Family Carers and Suffolk User Forum.
Launching the new Suffolk Learning Disability Strategy
1st January 2022
Ace Anglia were part of launching Suffolk Joint Learning Disability Strategy Refresh 2021.
Coming out of lockdown (Covid-19)
7th July 2021
Ace slowly introduced face to face meetings and events. Lots of people were still concerned about Covid-19 but everyone had the option to join meetings online or in person. Because of this, we now offer a blended approach to run in person and online meetings.
Covid-19
1st May 2020
The country went into a national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ace had temporarily closed its offices prior to the lockdown and asked all employees to work from home in order to keep them safe. This meant that Ace employees were now providing advocacy virtually rather than face-face. We provided everyone with office equipment to work from home and devised new working from home policies. The whole team had to develop new skills and methods of working to fulfil their roles. We did not cancel meetings, change any immediate plans or furlough any staff. Group advocacy sessions became online group meetings, conferences were online as well as our TVS, one to one, advocacy
Peer Educators
2nd September 2019
Ace employed 4 peer educators.
Social media administrator
11th November 2018
Ace hire Mark Conquer to be our social media administrator. Mark is a self-confessed online & tech expert and supports Ace to connect with organisations and the public through our various channels.
Ipswich & East and West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Groups
10th October 2018
Ace are commissioned by Ipswich & East and West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Groups to run a series of peer led awareness sessions that will promote self-care and the uptake of Annual Health Checks. The project will run until the end of 2019.
Dance East Film
8th August 2018
Ace commissioned a collaborative project with choreographers & Dance East who produced a film with 3 local dancers. The film tells 3 individual stories and helps to promote Ace’s core values. Ace Anglia Arts Fund, Dance East Short Film
Ipswich Office
1st January 2018
Ace open a new office in Tower House in Ipswich.
Strategy Champion
1st May 2017
One of the Strategy Champions, supports people to fill in an interactive survey about what people like doing in the evenings and weekends, tying in with the Strategy vision of: people living good lives, with the right support, at the right time, from the right people.
Talking to local Councillors
1st February 2017
Strategy Champions and Ace staff talk to local Councillors about the Learning Disability Strategy.
Celebrating the impact of the Learning Disability Strategy Year 1
8th July 2016
Members of the Learning Disability Partnership review and celebrate the impact of the Learning Disability Strategy at a Year 1 celebration event.
Presentation to the Health and Wellbeing Board
7th July 2016
Ace, along with other members of the Learning Disability Partnership, supported Champions to present the work and impact of year 1 of the Learning Disability Strategy.
Appreciative Inquiry Events
6th June 2016
Together with Suffolk County Council, Ace facilitated 8 Appreciative Inquiry events across the county. An Appreciative Inquiry is about the search for the best in people, their organisations, and the strengths-filled, opportunity-rich world around them. Appreciative Inquiries look at the entire change process to “inquire” into that system’s strengths, possibilities, and successes.
Joint Suffolk Learning Disability Strategy 2015-20
7th January 2015
Ace support 7 Champions to work on the new “Joint Suffolk Learning Disability Strategy 2015-20”. The Strategy, signed off by Suffolk County Council and the 3 Clinical Commissioning Groups working in Suffolk looks to enable the vision of: people with learning disabilities living good lives, as part of their communities, with the right support, at the right time, from the right people.
Ace Anglia
4th January 2011
Ace work on a new brand identity and change their name to Ace Anglia. This is to reflect the broader reach and range of work Ace are now doing.
Corn Exchange
1st January 1999
Hilda, Sarah, Mandy, Stuart and Paul at a meeting at Ipswich Corn Exchange.
People For People
1st January 1998
People for People and Suffolk Voice merge to form Ace: Suffolk People First. Ace worked on one to one and group advocacy across Suffolk, and worked from two offices, one in Stowmarket & one in Saxmundham.