A report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) highlights an urgent need for 1,400 additional educational psychologists in England, costing approximately £140 million. This demand stems from a significant increase in children with special needs, particularly autism, and the existing workforce of about 3,400 full-time specialists is unable to meet the needs of schools effectively. Dr. Andrea Honess from the British Psychological Society emphasizes the necessity of educational psychologists to support children and families and suggests that every school should have a designated psychologist. The EPI's findings indicate that the current funding for only 200 trainees each year is insufficient to meet the growing demand. Factors contributing to the increased need include rigid school behavior policies and families opting for home schooling due to a lack of resources. The report suggests that the government’s £1.8 billion grant for local authorities could help address these shortages, but concerns remain about whether the funding will be adequate to resolve the ongoing issues in the educational psychology sector.