Educational Psychology Moving Back to the Classroom?
Educational psychologists have long occupied an interesting position in the SEND system: close enough to schools to understand their challenges, but often pulled towards statutory assessment, individual casework and ever-growing demand. In 2026, however, the role may be reaching an important turning point.
The government's new Experts at Hand programme aims to bring educational psychologists (EPs), speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and specialist teachers more directly into mainstream educational settings. The ambition is significant: identify needs earlier, provide support without requiring a diagnosis and build the confidence and capability of those already working with children every day.
Psychologically, this makes sense. A child's needs do not exist neatly within one professional domain. Learning, communication, emotional wellbeing, sensory differences, relationships and the wider environment interact. From an ecological perspective, effective intervention therefore requires more than identifying difficulties within an individual child. It means changing the systems around them.
For EPs, this could create greater space for consultation, collaborative formulation and systemic work. Rather than professionals meeting only when difficulties have escalated, an EP might work alongside a SENCO, teacher, speech and language therapist and family much earlier, helping everyone develop a shared understanding of what is happening and what might help.
There is, however, a rather large elephant in the multi-agency meeting: workforce capacity.
Research published in 2026 by the Education Policy Institute, commissioned by the British Psychological Society, highlighted a chronic shortage of educational psychologists in England and substantial variation in access. Expanding what EPs are expected to contribute without expanding the workforce risks stretching a scarce resource even further.
The government has recognised this challenge, allocating £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year in 2026 and 2027. That investment matters, but training new EPs takes time. In the short term, services will still need to make careful decisions about how to deploy specialist expertise.
This is where the more optimistic possibility emerges.
The answer may not simply be more EP hours, but using EP time differently. High-quality consultation, coaching and joint problem-solving can extend psychological thinking beyond the individual cases an EP can personally hold. An EP supporting a whole staff team to understand emotionally based avoidance, communication needs or relational approaches may influence the experiences of many more children than one assessment alone.
That does not mean replacing individual work with generic advice, nor asking already stretched school staff to become psychologists. It means using specialist expertise to strengthen the adults, relationships and systems surrounding children while retaining direct involvement where it is needed most.
Perhaps the future of educational psychology is therefore less about being the expert who arrives with the answer and more about being the psychologist who helps a network of people think differently together.
If Experts at Hand can achieve that, closing the workforce gap may involve not only increasing the number of psychologists available, but increasing the reach of psychology itself.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in blog posts are solely those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of Plymouth Learning Partnership CIC. The content is provided for general information and educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as professional or legal advice. Plymouth Learning Partnership CIC accepts no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or actions taken in reliance on this content. The individual author is responsible for ensuring that any third-party material used (including text, images, and media) does not infringe copyright. Plymouth Learning Partnership CIC does not accept liability for any unauthorised use of copyrighted material by the individual author.
