Government announces a long term commitment to growing the EP workforce

The Department for Education published a report this morning revealing how many hours local authorities spend developing and issuing EHCPs. This comes alongside an announcement of a long term commitment to growing the Educational Psychology (EP) workforce in England – ensuring more trained EPs in the years to come. This includes the agreed funding to train at least 200 people per year from 2026 and 2027. There has been further commitment to provide additional funding in 2028 to train more EPs. The government has said this investment will ensure 'a healthy pipeline of EPs in the years to come – increasing capacity to deliver assessments and freeing up time to go into schools and directly support pupils and staff.'

AEP General Secretary, Donna Wiggett commented "The AEP welcomes today’s announcement from the DfE committing to increased investment in the training of EPs. We welcome the commitment to train more EPs in England, and this is something the AEP advocates across the UK. It is positive to see recognition of the unique expertise of the EP workforce and a commitment to strengthening capacity to deliver better services for children and young people.

Our members consistently tell us they want to spend more time working directly in schools and community settings, supporting children and young people in a wide range of ways. Our expertise includes training, intervention, assessment, consultation and research. EPs work across these functions to deliver invaluable support to children, young people, their families and school staff alongside statutory work. These wide-reaching skills and specialist knowledge are key to help all children succeed in education, particularly those with SEND.

Although around 200 EPs are trained each year in England, workforce shortages remain. Our members report increasing workload pressures, including the demands of statutory work and high numbers of EPs are leaving their roles. 

We would welcome continued discussions with the DfE about how this investment can be supported by sustainable workforce arrangements, including terms and conditions and contract models that support recruitment and retention. We believe a long-term workforce plan is a key part of any successful reform. We hope to see more detail of how this investment can be delivered to best support the outcomes for children and young people in forthcoming policy announcements.'