Only around one in 10 leading educational psychologists say they are confident they will be able to continue to meet demand for their services, amid concerns over funding, training and delivery.
Nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) of principal educational psychologists (PEPs) - who lead on services in their local area - were not very confident or not confident at all that they would be able to continue to fulfil the requests for their services.
Just 11 per cent of PEPs stated that they were very or quite confident in their continuing ability to meet the needs for educational psychology services if funding, training and service delivery models stayed the same.
And educational psychologists have also warned that pressure caused by a rise in education, health and care plans (EHCPs) was reducing the chances for early intervention for pupils and contributing towards a “vicious cycle” of demand.
The findings are contained in a government research report published today.
It comes as new figures show the number of EHCPs in England has risen above half a million for the first time.
And earlier this year, school leaders warned that they are being left to deal with a “tsunami of pressures” hitting pupils’ wellbeing, as children’s mental health struggles to recover post-pandemic.
The new findings are drawn from a series of surveys, interviews and focus groups with educational psychologists (EPs), trainee and assistant EPs and PEPs.
The research also found that almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) of local authority PEPs reported that they were currently experiencing difficulties recruiting staff.
Of this figure, more than three-quarters (77 per cent) said that they consistently experienced difficulties recruiting, mostly owing to a lack of applicants.
Educational psychologists assess children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and suggest ways to support them, and contribute to the development of EHCPs.
Last month, the Association of Educational Psychologists announced a formal ballot for strike action over pay amid wider concerns about recruitment, retention and workload in the sector.
The report stated: “Increased demand for EHCPs was perceived by PEPs and EPs as creating capacity issues in the system.
“They suggested that a vicious cycle existed, in which EPs lacked capacity to engage in early intervention and advisory work, because statutory assessment took up so much of their time.
“As a result, the issues experienced by children and young people escalated and could no longer be resolved by early intervention work, leading to them seeking an EHCP.”
The report concluded that capacity, primarily driven by the rise in EHCP numbers, was the main barrier to EPs delivering the most effective service.
And concerns over retention problems were also raised, with a third (34 per cent) of local authority PEPs reporting that they were experiencing retention issues.
