Responding to new research by the Education Policy Institute, which warns that government must address the "chronic shortage" of educational psychologists, Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Chair of the Local Government Association's Children, Young People and Families Committee, said:

"To integrate the SEND system within mainstream education, it is vital there is a workforce with the right skills that can provide the support children and young people with SEND need, to help improve their educational outcomes.

"However as this report highlights, there is a stark shortage of educational psychologists, which could undermine these efforts.

"We would like to see clarity from government on how new cohorts of specialists, including educational psychologists and speech and language therapists can be attracted into the education and SEND system."