It is 20 years since the ASE was awarded our Royal Charter. 

The ASE became incorporated by Royal Charter in October 2004. As well as changing the structure, governance and legal status of the Association for Science Education, the Royal Charter gave us an exclusive right as a licenced body of the Science Council to award Chartered Science Teacher status (CSciTeach), which, “recognises the unique combination of skills, knowledge, understanding and expertise that is required by individuals involved in the specific practice and advancement of science teaching and learning.” 

The charter was a culmination of discussions held by ASE Council in early 2001, with members, Regions, Officers and committees to explore what teaching and learning science should look like and how ASE might contribute to this.  The outcome was an affirmation that the ASE’s overall purpose was to promote “excellence in science teaching and learning” through: encouraging participation and inclusivity preferably through membership; enhancing professionalism through advocacy of chartered status and the provision of high quality professional development; and, working in partnership with others to influence policy and practice, promote innovation and deliver cutting edge initiatives.

These underpinning principles remain very much at the heart of strategic objectives and activities 20 years on and advocacy of professional accreditation remains one of our chief aspirations for our teachers and technicians. We are also very proud to be still awarding professional registration awards, with our Science Council licence renewal announced earlier this summer, and celebrating the success of individuals going above and beyond in their profession. 

If you are interested to know a little more about ASE's history, we've recently pulled together a timeline of key events, which you can view on our history page.