Thousands more children’s education at risk of reaching crisis point due to workforce crisis, warns British Psychological Society

Thousands of children who require vital support in school in England could soon face even longer delays for help due to a shortage of educational psychologists, according to the British Psychological Society (BPS). 

In a new survey of its members, the BPS found that just over half of all educational psychologists say they feel unable to support children and young people with their current workload, signalling the devastating impact of years of underinvestment in the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) system, despite unprecedented demand. 

The survey also found that 70 per cent of respondents feel that children and young people in their local authority didn't have fair and equal access to an educational psychologist.  

These concerning findings come as over 20,000 children wait for an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) assessment in England, and over 4,000 who do have plans wait for a suitable school place. 

As a result of these pressures, a quarter (26 per cent) of educational psychologists surveyed by the BPS said they are thinking about moving on from the sector or changing their employment model in the next 12 months. With a further 20 per cent undecided on their future, it could leave thousands more children without the support they need and exacerbate the postcode lottery currently affecting services.  

With the new government committed to reviewing and reforming the SEND system, the British Psychological Society is urging the government to commit to providing local authorities with ringfenced funding in its forthcoming budget, to make sure every local authority has enough educational psychologists.  

The BPS is calling on the government to:  

• Ensure every school has a named educational psychologist based in their local authority, providing services free at the point of delivery, where they can have maximum impact working in partnership with colleagues in education, health, and social care. 
• Increase focus on retaining educational psychologists working in local authorities, alongside a fully funded and costed workforce plan to make sure children have equal access to the additional educational support they need wherever in the country they attend school.  
• Undertake a holistic review of the positioning of SEND within the wider education system to enable increased focus on early intervention and preventative support for children and families and a truly inclusive education system. 

Dr Gavin Morgan, chair of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology at the British Psychological Society, said: 

"Far too many children have returned to school this term without the additional educational support they need in the classroom, and it's devastating that thousands of children are still waiting for a suitable school place at the start of the school year. Every child deserves access to a high-quality education, but it is well-documented that the system inherited by the current government is currently failing thousands of children who need additional help.  

"It is unacceptable that timely access to an educational psychologist is a postcode lottery, and we welcome the new government's commitment to reforming the SEND system to make sure there is a level playing field for all children."  

The BPS also found nearly three quarters of all educational psychologists surveyed felt they didn't have sufficient time to fulfil their role including direct work with children and young people, supporting parents and carers, and providing consultancy to improve the wider school system.

Reasons given include having to process record numbers of referrals from local authorities and spending increasing amounts of time undertaking assessments and writing reports for EHC plans.  

The findings bring into stark focus the retention issues within the profession, and the urgent need for investment and reform to ensure the crucial early intervention work can be prioritised – saving money and preventing many children reaching crisis point. 

Dr Morgan continued:  

"More educational psychologists are needed in local authorities, to not only help tackle the backlog within the system, but to work proactively with children, families, and teachers to provide early intervention to prevent needs and difficulties from becoming entrenched in the first place. This will reduce the need for statutory intervention, and EHC plans, saving significant costs further down the line. 

"However, our survey findings make it clear that the current state of the system means educational psychologists cannot deliver this work in the face of unmanageable workloads, creating significant retention concerns which need to be addressed. Investment in recruitment and training of educational psychologists is crucial, however it doesn't solve the immediate crisis of educational psychologists saying they are going to leave now. Training takes time and we need to address the fact that we will be training EPs who will then leave."

Daniel Stavrou, Assistant Director of Education & Equalities at the National Children's Bureau and Policy Vice-Chair of the Special Educational Consortium, said: 

"The recent data emerging from the BPS' survey is yet another stark example of the crisis in the SEND system. Too many children and young people do not have timely access to the vital support educational psychologists can provide, and this mirrors the same challenges across the specialist workforce. 

"Like teachers, support staff, and allied health professionals, educational psychologists want to make a positive difference by intervening when they can make a difference, and the current system does not allow this to happen. We support this campaign and call for the Government to urgently ensure that all children have equitable access to the services and support they need to thrive."

Loughborough-based Charlotte Moncur has been waiting for over a year for an EHCP for her son. She applied to her local authority on behalf of her son Connor in September 2023 just as he began secondary school. She said: 

"Just as he started Year 7 last September, we applied for the EHCP and then it was a long waiting game. The Educational Psychologist eventually came out in June, and she was lovely. In fact, she came out twice in the same week to do some further cognitive tests as he is high functioning. A month later we were told by the local authority that the EHCP was approved, and we should await the first draft of the EHCP, but we are still waiting. The last I heard we haven't even been allocated a caseworker. 

"It's just annoying as it's been a year now and legally it's meant to be 20 weeks. It's like we fail at every hurdle. By the time he leaves school it may be the time when stuff actually gets sorted for him."

Moncur added that Connor is now missing lessons because of the lack of additional support.

"Since he has been back at school, there are some lessons where he has just sat outside as it was just too much for him. One of the lessons was science, which is one of his favourites, but there was a lot going on and he just couldn't cope. He is missing out on his own education because of his disability. It's heartbreaking."

Notes to editors:  

• Findings are based on 249 responses collected in an online survey of members of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology by the British Psychological Society, between 25th July and 8th August 2024. 
• This increase in demand for EHCPs comes after a reduction in the number of educational psychologists working in local authorities, which sits against a backdrop of austerity measures affecting local authorities.  
• There have also been changes in the way educational psychology services are funded to support schools, which may vary greatly between local authorities. Schools need educational psychology support and often the only way to get this is to apply for an EHC assessment. 
• Councils must be given the funding they need, to provide the vital and equitable access to the local authority educational psychology support required. Often many schools are forced to pay for this support so this must revert to being free at the point of delivery.