Children in some parts of the country are 20 times less likely than their peers elsewhere to get support from an educational psychologist (EP), according to a new report.
And the chronic shortage of EPs could hinder the government’s plans for a more inclusive education system for children with SEND.
The study, from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), revealed huge disparities in the availability of EP provision around the country.
While some areas have one professional for every 480 pupils, in others this falls to one in every 9,400, meaning that children and young people are 20 times less likely than their peers elsewhere to get support.
The government’s three-year delivery timeline is at risk without additional investment to reach adequate staffing levels
The research shows that more than a 1,000 more EPs need to be trained, at a cost of £140 million, to bring these areas up to adequate levels of staffing.
The EPI report, Educational Psychologists in England, funded by the British Psychological Society (BPS), provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Regional anomalies
Ministers made inclusion a central plank of their recent SEND reforms, outlined in the Schools White Paper, with the creation of a network of ‘Experts at Hand’ – including EPs, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists – to support schools and families within their localities.
However, the findings suggest that there is currently no accurate count of the total EP workforce and no evidence-based benchmarks for adequate staffing.
The research used eight years of administrative data (from 2016-17 to 2023-24) and case studies from six local authorities (LAs) to estimate how many professionals are needed to run an effective service.
It found that the regional discrepancies were due to a national shortage of EPs, with official data undercounting the workforce by about a third.
Overall, 96 local authorities do not have enough EPs, a situation exacerbated by a retention crisis. Only 250 government-funded training places were available in the current academic year, while an estimated 350 EPs – or about 10% – leave the profession annually.
The report said: “Increasing capacity would allow professionals to move beyond purely reactive work to support schools directly, improving early intervention. This shift is essential for improving job satisfaction and halting the retention crisis.”
Critical under-resourcing
James Zuccollo, the EPI’s director for school workforce, said: “This report highlights a stark reality: we cannot deliver the government’s goal of inclusive mainstream education while the educational psychologist workforce remains critically under-resourced.
“The £1.8 billion ‘Experts at Hand’ programme provides a welcome framework, but its sufficiency is entirely dependent on a stable EP pipeline.
“Given the length of specialist training required, the government’s three-year delivery timeline is at risk without additional investment to reach adequate staffing levels.
“Continuing to fund training for only 200 EPs each year will not be enough to adequately support children’s needs.
“A relatively modest investment of around £140 million would allow EPs to work more effectively to improve outcomes and break the cycle of burnout and attrition that currently threatens the service.”
Free at point of delivery
Dr Andrea Honess, Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child Psychology, said: “This vital research provides much needed insight into the state of the educational psychology workforce.
“We must ensure EPs have the capacity to apply their psychological expertise to work with children and families, as well as strategically in educational and community settings.
“This should start with a named link local authority educational psychologist for all schools, providing services free at the point of delivery.”
She added: “Educational psychologists are ready to play a leading role in this next phase of SEND reform, but we can only be effective if there are enough of us in the system to provide the vital support required.”
Training pipeline
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “The shortages highlighted in this report will unfortunately chime with many school leaders.
“While we welcome the principles behind the government’s proposed banks of ‘Experts at Hand’, it is crucial they are supported by the funding required to significantly boost the availability of specialists.
“A clear plan is also needed for a timely training pipeline and the conditions required to ensure people want stay in these roles for the long-run.”
