Overwhelmed educational psychologists face backlog and staff shortages jeopardising early support in England

A new study reveals that the growing backlog of assessments and staff shortages are forcing educational psychologists in England to reduce early intervention efforts, threatening progress in inclusive education.

Educational psychologists in England are being pulled away from early support work as a growing backlog of statutory assessments overwhelms the system, according to new research from the University of East London.

The study, published in Educational Psychology in Practice, found that 63% of the 78 educational psychologists surveyed said their local authority had a backlog of Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments, or EHCNAs. Among those who knew the scale of the delay, the average backlog was more than 220 cases. The researchers also found that 65% said statutory special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND, duties were reducing their ability to deliver early intervention and other preventative help.

The pressure is part of a wider staffing crisis. Analysis by the Education Policy Institute found that 96 local authorities in England were operating below the recommended level of educational psychologist staffing, with some areas employing one psychologist for every 480 pupils and the most stretched areas closer to one for every 9,400. The institute estimated that about 1,400 extra psychologists would be needed to meet the benchmark, at a cost of roughly £140 million a year.

The EPI and other sector reports have warned that this uneven distribution is creating a postcode lottery for children needing support. Local government leaders say the shortages could undermine ministers’ ambitions to expand inclusive mainstream provision, while the British Psychological Society and the Association of Educational Psychologists have also highlighted recruitment and retention problems. One survey from the University of Exeter found high levels of stress and burnout among educational psychologists, adding to concerns that services are losing experienced staff just as demand rises.

In the UEL study, 57% of respondents said their authority was relying on locums, associates or agency staff to help clear the assessment backlog. Some participants expressed concern that more remote assessments and short-term staffing could create inconsistency and reduce direct contact with children. Helena Bunn, programme director for the Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology at UEL and a co-author of the research, said the findings showed both the importance of educational psychologists and the strain they face in an overstretched SEND system. Even so, the researchers said many psychologists still envisaged a more collaborative model, with greater emphasis on early support in schools and proposals such as the “Experts at Hand” approach that could make specialist advice easier to access.