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04
Aug
Council doubles number of educational psychologists
North Yorkshire Council have doubled the number of educational psychologists on its team in the last two years, with more to start in September.
The educational psychology team currently includes 17 qualified educational psychologists (EPs), two trainees and four assistant EPs. Two more trainees are due to start in September.
This is more than double the number that the council had in 2024, when it told the Stray Ferret it had eight EPs, but had plans to recruit “at least seven more” in the 2024-25 academic year.
Educational psychologists play a key role in assessing children whose parents have applied for Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs), which allows schools to get extra funding and the children and families to get extra support.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has been a major issue both nationally and within North Yorkshire, with a 200% increase in demand for EHCPs to the council in the last 10 years.
According to North Yorkshire's 2026 Schools Forum papers, the estimated high needs spending this year is going to be more than £93 million – with the deficit forecast for 2027 reaching around £41 million.
The report says:
For financial planning purposes, the 2026-27 High Needs Commissioning budget supports approximately 6,400 FTE children and young people assessed as requiring EHCPs. In reality, the number of children currently supported is in excess of this. The financial planning assumptions indicate that there will be an increase of approximately 1,000 children and young people financially supported through EHCPs in 2026-27.
The government has announced planned changes to EHCPs, with less children set to qualify for them – reassessments will start in 2029, and only those with the most complex needs are expected to have them by 2035.
Department for Education statistics published in 2026 show that nationally there are nearly 720,000 active EHCPs with a 12.5% increase in one year – the largest ever.
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