Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local councils can (a) recruit and (b) retain educational psychologists in Surrey Heath constituency.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, providing statutory input into education, health and care assessments and advising the school workforce on how to support children and young people with SEND.

As the employers of educational psychology services, it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that their services are adequately staffed. The department is however taking measures to support local authorities by investing in building the pipeline.

The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.

To support retention, following graduation, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this requirement has increased to three years.