- A new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) warns of a "chronic shortage" of educational psychologists (EPs), which poses a significant threat to government ambitions for more inclusive mainstream schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
- The research highlights stark disparities across the country, with some areas having only one educational psychologist for every 9,400 pupils, and suggests official data undercounts the workforce by about a third.
- Experts, including Pepe Di’Iasio from the Association of School and College Leaders, have emphasised the urgency of the findings, stating the issue could "derail the Government’s plans for Send reform" and calling for immediate ministerial action.
- The EPI estimates that 1,400 additional EPs are needed to bring 96 under-resourced local authorities up to adequate levels, representing a 40 per cent increase that would cost an estimated £140 million.
- Despite the critical need, only just over 200 government-funded training places for EPs were available for 2025/26, which is considered insufficient to support children's needs and the government's three-year delivery timeline for SEND reforms.
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