BPS welcomes new funding for educational psychologists

The funding comes as part of the government's commitment to improving support for children with SEND and is urgently needed to ensure that all children and their families can access timely support for their needs. However, the BPS is keen to see more detail as to the arrangements for the new intakes of trainee educational psychologists (EPs), to ensure the continuation of high-quality training that meets BPS and HCPC competencies and criteria. 

Dr Victoria Lewis & Professor Olympia Palikara, co-chairs of the BPS's Division of Educational and Child Psychology, said:

"This funding from the government is very welcome, and it is particularly important to address the growing demand for preventative and proactive support in the area of SEND but also when supporting inclusion more widely.

We currently do not have enough educational psychologists to cope with demand and the profession is under huge pressure. As well as training new EPs we must focus on retaining those we already have, by ensuring that Local Authorities have the necessary support.  This must also include being able to provide funding and supervision for year two and three placements. 

We welcome the suggestion of moving to a six yearly cycle of tendering, to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and costs and to provide a secure and stable process for developing the EP workforce. It will be vital to ensure though, that any training must meet HCPC and BPS competencies and criteria in order to ensure that we are able to optimise the necessary services for our communities."