How do we work with educational psychologists?

Start here: the first action

An educational psychologist (EP) is a psychologist who works with schools and families on learning, behaviour and emotional needs. Commission EP time through your council’s psychology service, which most schools buy in for SEN Support consultation and assessment. Statutory EP advice for an EHC needs assessment is the council’s duty, not yours. The concrete first step for a SENCO is to contact your named EP or your local authority’s traded-services team and book consultation, observation or an individual assessment.

The two routes, and who pays for each

Schools confuse these two routes constantly, so it is worth being clear. The first is traded EP work that the school books and pays for itself to support the graduated approach (assess, plan, do, review): consultation with staff, classroom observation, assessment of an individual child, and whole-setting or training work. The second is the statutory EP advice the council must obtain once it agrees to carry out an EHC needs assessment. You cannot commission that second piece yourself.

The qualifier most pages miss

EP involvement at SEN Support is not a legal precondition for requesting an EHC needs assessment. It is good practice and common, but a school or parent can ask the council to assess without an EP report already on file. Once the council agrees to assess, its duty to obtain EP advice stands regardless of whether the school has previously bought EP time. EP involvement is also needs-led under the graduated approach: a child does not need a diagnosis before you involve an EP. Where a pupil makes little or no progress despite support, the SEND Code of Practice says you should involve specialists such as an EP.

You can also commission a private or independent EP, and the council must seek advice from anyone the parent or young person reasonably requests, so an independent EP report has to be considered during an assessment.

The reality check: plan early

There is a national shortage of educational psychologists. Research published by the British Psychological Society and the Association of Educational Psychologists in 2025 found record provision gaps and wide regional variation in EP-to-pupil ratios, with demand from rising EHC needs assessments outstripping supply. The practical effect for your school is that traded days are scarce and statutory EP advice is a known cause of EHCPs missing the 20-week deadline. Book and prioritise your EP time early in the year.

• See also how to apply for an EHC needs assessment as a school and what an educational psychologist does.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.