Where Have All the Educational Psychologists Gone?
02 May, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- Where all the Educational Psychologists have gone.
- Reasons for retention issues in educational psychology.
- How to address retention issues in educational psychology.
- Where the latest Educational Psychologist jobs are and how to apply for them.
Where have all the Educational Psychologists gone?
According to the Department for Education 34% of Principal Educational Psychologists (PEPs) reported that they were experiencing difficulties retaining staff. Despite high levels of job satisfaction and less than half of Educational Psychologists saying they were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied with their work-life balance, the DfE found that local authorities are struggling to retain Educational Psychologists.
Career plans of Educational Psychologists
When Educational Psychologists were asked about their short and long-term career plans, many were unsure, with some anticipated to leave the profession. The DfE found that 22% anticipated moving to a different job in educational psychology over the next 1 to 2 years, and 36% said the same when asked about their longer-term plans.
Reasons for retention issues
According to the DfE, of those PEPs experiencing difficulties in retaining staff, 96% stated that it affected outcomes for children and young people requiring support. Similar to why local authorities are struggling to recruit Educational Psychologists, the reasons for retainment issues include capacity issues, large workloads and tasks.
Feelings of failing to make an impact or working to the best of their ability, can reduce the incentive to stay in educational psychology and can encourage Educational Psychologists to look for a private practice or leave the profession.
Addressing retention issues
- Make workloads manageable and diverse.
- Provide more opportunities for trainees and assistant Educational Psychologists.
- Make local authorities more attractive than private practices.
Make workloads more manageable and diverse
For some Educational Psychologists in local authorities, statutory assessments can be monotonous and the high focus on Educational Health and Care Plans can make the workload even more pressurised.
The dissatisfaction with unmanageable workloads can result in some Educational Psychologists looking to private practices for work that is specialised, more appealing and diverse as well as better paid.
Provide more opportunities for trainees and assistant Educational Psychologists
Local authorities have attempted to address the issues with the recruitment of Educational Psychologists by trying to increase the number of qualified, assistant and trainee Educational Psychologists that they employ, therefore helping to launch their career in educational psychology.
By funding placements for trainees and assistant Educational Psychologists or supporting them through their training, local authorities can tackle the retention difficulties by creating a pipeline to eventually hire Educational Psychologists once they’re qualified.
Make local authorities more attractive than private practices
In order to retain the best talent and beat competition from private practices, many local authorities have been making themselves more attractive and inclusive.
Improvements include paying more, making workloads more manageable, and providing greater flexibility that ensures a diverse range of work from Educational Psychologists.
The nature of the tasks they were doing, made Educational Psychologists feel as though they weren’t making a significant impact with their educational psychology services or able to master the art of building trust with students as an Educational Psychologist.
Educational Psychologist jobs
If you’re searching for your next Educational Psychologist job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Learn the ropes in an interview with a trainee educational psychologist.
Struggling to recruit Educational Psychologists?
As specialist local authority SEND recruiters, we support local authorities nationwide with their temporary, interim and permanent staffing needs.
If you’re struggling to recruit, we have exclusive access to some of the most experienced interim Educational Psychologists in the UK.
Simply contact Natalie Boaler on 01772 954200 to discover how we can help.
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
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