"It is no surprise the local government ombudsman has found the SEND system to be failing," says BPS

Responding to the damning new report from the local government ombudsman into the special education system for children in England, Dr Gavin Morgan, chair of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology at the British Psychological Society, said:

"It is no surprise that the local government ombudsman has found the system which supports children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to be failing. The system has long been unfit for purpose, and as the government has recognised, needs urgent reform. 

"The report rightly highlights that many organisations lack vital staff, and affordable support is often missing. This matches our findings that there are simply not enough educational psychologists being trained and retained in local authorities to meet growing demand for children in the SEND system. 

"Thousands of children who require SEND support are at risk of being cut adrift if urgent intervention isn't forthcoming. With over 4,000 children who have an Education, Health, and Care assessment in England still waiting for a suitable school place, serious investment is needed to ensure that all our schools are linked with a named educational psychologist from their local authority, providing services free at the point of delivery."

Find out more about the BPS's campaign to address the need for more educational psychologists in local authorities, to make sure every child has the support they need to thrive in their education.

If you want to join our campaign to ensure every school has a named educational psychologist based in their local authority, you can write to your MP.