Educational psychologists in England
Think tank: Education Policy Institute
Author(s): James Zuccollo; Jo Hutchinson
April 16, 2026
This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Educational psychologists in England’ provides the first comprehensive national assessment of the EP workforce since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Drawing on eight years of administrative data and case studies from six local authorities, it reveals a stark disparity in provision: in some areas there is one EP for every 480 pupils; in those with the lowest levels of provision, there is just one for every 9,400.
Without urgent action, the sector faces a cycle of attrition, rising costs and an inability to deliver on the government’s ambition to include more children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools.
