Children of prisoners...are we doing enough? An exploration into how Educational Psychologists can support children of imprisoned parents in England

It is estimated that 200,000 children in England and Wales have a parent sent to prison yearly (Department for Education, 2025). If these children and young people are not supported appropriately, they can face adverse outcomes. There is not a system within health, social care or education services for identifying Children of Imprisoned Parents (CoIPs), consequently families must volunteer to self-identify which can be met with reluctance. Therefore, CoIPs often go unrecognised and do not receive support (Kincaed et al., 2019). Research positions schools to play a critical role in supporting CoIPs, and guidance recommends that Educational Psychologists (EPs) are consulted when planning for their provision (Buckinghamshire County Council, as cited in Weidberg, 2017; Shaw, Woods & Ford; 2022). Despite this, no research to date has sought to acknowledge EPs experiences of supporting CoIPs. Hence, this research utilised a mixed methods methodology to address the question ‘What more can be done within the EP profession to support CoIPs?’. In Phase 1 a survey collected data from 302 EPs, Assistant EPs and Trainee EPs to establish the nature of current EPs support for CoIPs. Phase 2 interviews were conducted with 6 EPs to understand what EPs can do to support CoIPs, and what EPs describe to influence their practice. Descriptive analysis of the quantitative data was used to capture the landscape and reflective thematic analysis of the qualitative data further enhanced understanding further. Findings from this research suggest that EPs are supporting CoIPs through their knowledge and skills. However, EPs shared that the profession could do more to support CoIPs if their visibility were to increase, tensions within practice and context reduced and if there were further opportunity to work in multi-agency capacities. The author concludes that EPs would benefit from specific training to enhance their practice, with further implications discussed.