At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Education Policy Institute has partnered with the British Psychological Society to hold a public panel on: ‘What role should education psychologists play in a reformed education system?’
Children with SEND are some of the most vulnerable children in the education system, facing wide attainment gaps and significant challenges to secure the support they need. EPI research finds that children with social, emotional and mental health needs are more than twice as likely to miss a period of mainstream education during the primary or secondary phases, compared with the overall cohort.
Educational psychologists are an essential element of the support structure for these young people. They support children, families, schools and local authorities to help all children to fully participate in educational settings by meeting their learning needs and helping them to achieve their full potential.
However, provision varies greatly across schools and local authorities and those that are in place, are under significant strain. The British Psychological Society’s 2024 survey of their members reveals that over 50% of educational psychologists feel unable to support children and young people due to their current workload and that 70% feel that children and young people in their local authority don’t have fair and equal access to an educational psychologist.
The Government is in the process of preparing a SEND White Paper following widespread acknowledgement that the system needs significant reform and investment. To meet their mission to break down barriers to opportunities for all children, what role should educational psychologists play in a new system? And what is needed to ensure they have the capacity and support to make a material difference to the lives of pupils under their care?
Building on upcoming EPI and British Psychological Society research on the sufficiency of current local provision, this panel will bring together politicians, educational psychologists and other sector stakeholders to discuss what is needed from education policy to support educational psychologists to deliver the best care. Panellists will discuss current delivery challenges; how more targeted early intervention could improve support levels and what role educational psychologists could and should be playing in a reformed system. Finally, the discussion will cover how national reform can eradicate patchy provision and unequal access to support by pupil demographic to ensure that all children, no matter their circumstances can thrive.
Speakers will be announced in due course.
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Labour Party.**
