Brian Jackson (educator)

Brian Jackson was probably the most influential British educationalist of the twentieth century.

Brian Jackson, influential British educator

He became director of the Advisory Centre for Education in 1962 and built it into a formidable vehicle for educational discussion and governmental lobbying.

Brian was the true founding father of the Open University, having established the National Extension College with Michael Young in 1963.

His influence spread even further though and many other institutions he has founded have proved to have a positive social effect. Among these he set up the National Children’s Centre in Huddersfield and, as a place where different approaches to finding solutions to social problems could be tried out and from which many other establishments have sprung. He was instrumental in making child-minding into the important work that it is now, and he was the brains behind the Childcare Switchboard - a prototype for Childline.

Brian had a major influence on the development of ideas and the practice of childcare. His enthusiasm and skills were much admired, but despite the brilliance and promise of his early career, he died tragically young. His name and legacy however, live on through the success and impact of the establishments he built. ^[1]

1. ↑ Brian Jackson: Educational Innovator and Social Reformer. Kit Hardwick. (2003)