The LGA has called for clarity from ministers on how educational psychologists and other specialists can be attracted into education in the face of staff shortages.
New research commissioned by the British Psychological Society (BPS) warns the Government’s reforms of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system are at risk if the shortage of educational psychologists isn’t urgently tackled.
The new report, ‘Educational psychologists in England’, from the Education Policy Institute, reveals some areas have one professional for every 480 pupils, while those with the lowest levels of provision have just one for every 9,400.
The BPS says that bringing the 96 authorities with below-benchmark staffing up to this level would require an extra 1,400 full-time educational psychologists.
This would represent a 40 per cent increase in the current workforce, at an estimated annual cost of £140 million – a “modest investment relative to the wider costs of a failing SEND system”, according to the BPS.
Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Chair of the LGA’s Children, Young People and Families Committee, said: “To integrate the SEND system within mainstream education, it is vital there is a workforce with the right skills that can provide the support children and young people with SEND need, to help improve their educational outcomes.
“However, as this report highlights, there is a stark shortage of educational psychologists, which could undermine these efforts.
“We would like to see clarity from government on how new cohorts of specialists, including educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, can be attracted into the education and SEND system.”