Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate the retraining of current teaching staff as educational psychologists, with reference to a) financial implications and b) broader support.

We are investing £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027, with further investment to train more over the following three years, subject to future spending reviews. This is in addition to the £31 million already invested since 2023.

The training is open to anyone that meets the candidate specifications, including teachers. These candidate specifications, as well as application cycle dates and available support, are outlined on the Association of Educational Psychologists website at: https://www.aep.org.uk/EPFT.

The department funds the full three-year tuition fees and a first-year bursary payment, which is currently £16,266 (£16,715 in London). In years two and three, trainees are based on placements across England, with placement providers funding a bursary or salary for these years. After graduation, educational psychologists will be required to work within a local authority in England for a minimum period. This is three years for trainees who started from 2024.