Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of training placements of educational psychologists to meet the expected demand for education, health and care plans by each local authority.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in 2023.

As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments.