❓ WA Parliamentary Question on Notice regarding the number of school psychologists (FTE) and waitlists for psychological services in WA schools between 2019-2022. The answer indicates no formal waitlists exist, but schools prioritise requests for support.
AnsweredQoN 550Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
For the financial years 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 please detail: (a) The total number of school psychologists (FTE), broken down by region including the metropolitan region; and (b) The total number of school children on the waitlist for school psychologists, broken down by region for: (i) assessments; and (ii) clinical counselling?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 September 2022
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Education and Training
Response time
6 days
Answer
(a) The total number of school psychologists (FTE) by Education region:
FTE
Region
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
Goldfields
13.9
13.9
14.0
Kimberley
12.8
13.5
13.6
Midwest
11.0
12.0
11.9
North Metropolitan
107.7
112.2
116.5
Pilbara
15.3
15.2
17.3
South Metropolitan
116.2
121.6
133.2
Southwest
32.1
32.0
32.7
Wheatbelt
11.6
11.5
12.3
Central Office / Statewide Services Centre (1)
40.5
38.5
38.1
(1) Includes staff located in the Schools of Special Educational Needs, School of Alternative Learning Settings and Central Office. School Psychologists located in central office or the Statewide Services Centre provide additional support to schools to respond to critical incidents and complex cases.
(b) The School Psychology Service does not operate waitlists.
School psychologists work with and through school staff and school processes to deliver their services. These services include implementation of whole-school mental health and wellbeing frameworks, advice for teachers and other members of the school community to understand and effectively respond to behavioural and mental health issues, and direct individual student support such as behavioural assessments and counselling when the need arises. The concept of “waitlists” does not apply to this model of service.
School psychologists will be aware of requests for psychological support for individual students at their school/s which they need to prioritise and action. This occurs in consultation with the school and within the context of the school service plan and identified priorities. Schools continue to support the needs of these students while this is occurring.
(a) The total number of school psychologists (FTE) by Education region:
FTE
Region
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
Goldfields
13.9
13.9
14.0
Kimberley
12.8
13.5
13.6
Midwest
11.0
12.0
11.9
North Metropolitan
107.7
112.2
116.5
Pilbara
15.3
15.2
17.3
South Metropolitan
116.2
121.6
133.2
Southwest
32.1
32.0
32.7
Wheatbelt
11.6
11.5
12.3
Central Office / Statewide Services Centre (1)
40.5
38.5
38.1
(1) Includes staff located in the Schools of Special Educational Needs, School of Alternative Learning Settings and Central Office. School Psychologists located in central office or the Statewide Services Centre provide additional support to schools to respond to critical incidents and complex cases.
(b) The School Psychology Service does not operate waitlists.
School psychologists work with and through school staff and school processes to deliver their services. These services include implementation of whole-school mental health and wellbeing frameworks, advice for teachers and other members of the school community to understand and effectively respond to behavioural and mental health issues, and direct individual student support such as behavioural assessments and counselling when the need arises. The concept of “waitlists” does not apply to this model of service.
School psychologists will be aware of requests for psychological support for individual students at their school/s which they need to prioritise and action. This occurs in consultation with the school and within the context of the school service plan and identified priorities. Schools continue to support the needs of these students while this is occurring.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.