Report reveals chronic shortage of Educational Psychologists and record provision gaps

16/04/2026

A new report Educational psychologists in England from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), commissioned by the British Psychological Society (BPS), has been published today. The research evidences the chronic shortage of Educational Psychologists and record provision gaps and reveals the stark disparity in levels of EP provision.

The findings indicate that there is currently no accurate count of the total EP workforce and that there are no evidence-based benchmarks for adequate staffing. The AEP were able to contribute data to support the research based on membership figures and the experiences of our members. By drawing on eight years of administrative data (and case studies from six local authorities, the research provides estimates to enable effective service planning.

In response to the publication AEP General Secretary Donna Wiggett said

"We welcome this report, commissioned by the BPS and fully support its call for urgent investment in the educational psychologist workforce. Our members have raised these concerns for years, and we are glad to see them now evidenced at a national level.

The proposed 40% increase in the EP workforce in England is necessary. Bringing understaffed local authorities up to benchmark would be a significant step forward. It would not, on its own, be enough to enable the best support for children and young people.

Further investment beyond this baseline will be essential to rebuild the early intervention capacity that has been lost as EPs have become increasingly absorbed in statutory assessment work. Research commissioned by the AEP and conducted by Manchester University suggests a good level of EP service delivery as requiring just more than double the current service delivery, with demand being greater within high-need settings. Greater investment will also be needed to ensure that the Government can deliver on the specialist support for children and young people with SEND outlined in the White Paper, which will place additional and significant demands on EP capacity.

We call on the Government to set out a fully funded, long-term workforce strategy for educational psychology that goes beyond restoration and invests in the breadth and depth of EP practice that children, families, and communities deserve."

Other key findings include:

Official data undercounts the workforce by about a third. Standard collections capture only EPs employed by local authorities, missing approximately 1,300 full-time professionals working through traded services, multi-academy trusts, and private practice. However, this hidden workforce is not evenly distributed to plug gaps in deprived areas.
Bringing the 96 authorities with below-benchmark staffing up this level would require an estimated extra 1,400 Full-Time Equivalent EPs. This would represent a 40 per cent increase in the current EP workforce, at an estimated annual cost of £140 million*. This is a modest investment relative to the wider costs of a failing SEND system.
According to surveys from the BPS and the AEP, a retention crisis threatens workforce sustainability. If 10 per cent exit annually (approximately 350 EPs, roughly matching the rate for teachers), gross recruitment must replace leavers before achieving net growth. In 2025/26 just over 200 government funded training places were available.
Increasing capacity would allow professionals to move beyond purely reactive work to support schools directly, improving early intervention. This shift is essential for improving job satisfaction and halting the retention crisis.

You can read the report in full, and the BPS response via the link below.

Read report in full