Families across England are continuing to face long delays in the Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment process. One of the biggest reasons for this is the growing shortage of Educational Psychologists (EPs).
Recent reports have warned that the lack of EPs could seriously undermine the Government’s proposed reforms to the SEND system. In some areas, there is only one EP for every 9,400 pupils. Experts have warned that without major investment, the current workforce simply cannot keep up with demand.
For parents trying to secure support for their child, these shortages often translate into missed statutory deadlines, delayed advice, and prolonged uncertainty. While local authorities face genuine recruitment difficulties, delays can have a serious impact on children who are waiting for support, placements, and specialist provision.
Parents should remember that statutory timescales still apply, even where staffing shortages exist. Staying organised, maintaining written communication, and seeking early legal advice where delays occur can help prevent cases from drifting for months without progress.
What does an Educational Psychologist do?
EPs play a key role in identifying and understanding a child’s special educational needs. During an EHC needs assessment, the local authority is required to obtain advice from an EP alongside advice from education, health, and social care professionals.
Their advice is often one of the most important pieces of evidence in the EHCP process because it helps identify the child’s educational needs, what provision a child requires, and whether specialist support or placement may be necessary. As a general rule of thumb, if the EP report is detailed and specific, the Education, Health and Care Plan is likely to be better and more enforceable as a result.
An overview of the EHC needs assessment process
The EHC needs assessment process is governed by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Regulations 2014.
The process broadly works as follows:
- Request for assessment: a parent, school, or young person can ask the local authority to carry out an EHC needs assessment. The local authority must decide within 6 weeks whether it will carry out the assessment.
- The assessment stage: if the assessment is agreed, the local authority gathers professional advice from relevant specialists, including EP advice, school advice, medical advice, social care advice, parental views, and the child or young person’s views.
- Decision on whether to issue an EHCP: within 16 weeks, after considering the evidence, the local authority decides whether an Education, Health and Care Plan should be issued.
- Draft EHCP: if the authority decides to issue a plan, it sends parents a draft EHCP at the same time as the decision to issue a plan and allows at least 15 days for comments and school preferences.
- Final EHCP: the final EHCP must normally be issued within 20 weeks from the date the assessment request was first made.
In theory, the process is designed to move relatively quickly. In practice, many families experience delays, particularly during the assessment stage.
How Educational Psychologist shortages are affecting families
EPs are in extremely high demand. Research suggests that around 1,400 additional EPs would be needed nationally to bring staffing levels up to an adequate standard.
The shortage affects families in several ways:
- delays obtaining EP advice
- local authorities failing to meet statutory deadlines
- rushed or generic reports based on inadequate online assessments
- pressure on schools and SENCOs
- delays in securing specialist placements or provision
Professional bodies have described the backlog in assessments as a serious problem, with increasing pressure on EPs to produce advice more quickly.
Unfortunately, many parents are told that delays are unavoidable because there are no EPs available. While staffing shortages are real, it is important to remember that local authorities still remain under a legal duty to comply with statutory SEND timescales.
What can parents do when faced with potential delays?
Although parents cannot solve the national shortage of EPs, there are steps they can take to help keep the process moving.
Regularly remind the local authority about statutory deadlines
Many local authorities operate under significant pressure. However, the legal deadlines still apply. Parents may wish to:
- keep a written timeline of the process
- send polite but firm reminder emails
- refer specifically to the 20-week statutory deadline
- ask the authority to explain any anticipated delay in writing
Sometimes simply demonstrating awareness of the legal framework can encourage quicker action.
Ask for updates about Educational Psychology advice
Parents can ask:
- when the EP was instructed
- whether an appointment date has been allocated
- whether the authority is outsourcing EP advice
- whether there is a waiting list
Obtaining clarity early can help identify problems before months are lost.
Consider obtaining independent Educational Psychologist quotes
In some cases, it can be helpful to obtain quotations from independent EPs and send them to the local authority. This can place pressure on the local authority to either source alternative EP provision more quickly or agree to commission independent advice. Local authorities are typically very reluctant to use parent-sourced experts, but there is nothing in the law which prevents them from doing so. Having a record of presenting the local authority with options for timely assessments can be helpful if it becomes necessary to take further action later, such as Judicial Review.
Some local authorities may agree to fund independent assessments where their own services cannot comply with statutory deadlines.
Parents should be cautious when privately commissioning reports, however, as costs can be significant and reimbursement is not guaranteed. We also recommend using EPs with Tribunal experience, in case you later need to appeal to the SEND Tribunal. Legal advice may be helpful before taking this step.
Keep evidence of delays
If delays become excessive, parents should keep copies of:
- emails
- missed deadlines
- complaints
- responses from the local authority
This evidence can become important if formal complaints, mediation, Judicial Review, or SEND Tribunal proceedings later become necessary.
Can legal action be taken over EHCP delays?
In some cases, parents may consider legal action where a local authority fails to comply with its statutory duties during the EHCP process.
One possible option is Judicial Review. This is a type of legal challenge in the High Court which allows the Court to examine whether a public body, such as a local authority, has acted unlawfully. In the SEND context, Judicial Review proceedings are sometimes brought where councils fail to comply with statutory EHCP deadlines or unlawfully delay important decisions.
Judicial Review may be considered where a local authority:
- fails to decide whether to assess within 6 weeks of the request for an assessment
- delays obtaining EP advice and fails to make a decision as to whether an EHCP will be issued within 16 weeks
- fails to issue a final EHCP within the 20-week statutory timeframe
Importantly, local authorities cannot simply rely on staffing shortages or pressure on services as a reason to ignore statutory duties. While shortages of EPs are a real national problem, the legal duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Regulations still apply.
In many cases, the first stage of Judicial Review involves sending a formal pre-action letter to the local authority. This letter sets out the alleged legal failings and gives the authority an opportunity to resolve the matter before Court proceedings are issued. Sometimes the threat of Judicial Review proceedings alone is enough to prompt urgent action from the local authority, particularly where statutory deadlines have been significantly exceeded.
Judicial Review is a specialist area of law and strict time limits apply. Parents considering this option should seek specialist legal advice as early as possible.
The Government’s proposed “Experts at Hand” scheme
The Government has recently proposed major reforms to the SEND system in England, including a new “Experts at Hand” scheme. The proposal involves creating local teams of SEND specialists, including EPs, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and specialist teachers, that mainstream schools could access more easily.
The stated aim is to provide earlier support within mainstream schools and reduce the need for families to go through the EHCP process. However, several experts have warned that the success of the scheme depends heavily on having enough trained specialists available. EPs already face extremely high workloads, and training new EPs takes several years. Critics have questioned whether the workforce capacity exists to deliver the reforms within the Government’s proposed timescales.
Many parents and professionals are also concerned about wider proposed SEND reforms, including suggestions that EHCPs may become more limited in future. At present, the reforms remain proposals and consultations are ongoing.
How we can help
For many families, understanding the legal framework and persistently holding local authorities to account remains an important part of securing the support their child needs.
Our Education Law team at HCB Widdows Mason has extensive experience supporting families through the EHCP process, challenging unlawful delays, and representing parents at the SEND Tribunal. If you would like to discuss your matter, please contact us today and one of our education law specialists will be in touch.
