Educational psychologists across Wiltshire and Swindon may soon go on strike.

Their trade union, the Association of Educational Psychologists, said that its members have voted overwhelmingly to take action in support of a pay claim higher than the three per cent offered nationally by employers.

And those who work in Swindon and Wiltshire schools and other educational settings were no different.

There are 11 members of the AEP in Swindon and on a 63 per cent turnout voted unanimously to take strike action, with 85 per cent in favour of other action short of a stoppage.

In Wiltshire, 87.5 per cent of the 24 members in the county voted, and they voted three to one to take strike action, and 95.24 per cent were in favour.

Dr Cath Lowther, the General Secretary of AEP said: “‘Our members have said loud and clear that our children deserve to see an educational psychologist when they need to. They have turned out in significant numbers to vote yes to industrial action and to save local authority educational psychology services.

“It is clear that our campaign and the strength of feeling from our members, which has been reflected in the strike ballot, has been heard by the employers and we welcome the revised pay offer which we have just received.  We will consider this offer before deciding on our next steps.

“Every year, tens of thousands of children and young people and their families are helped by an educational psychologist.  Despite the vital services and support provided by EPs, local authorities have not invested in the profession and now face widespread recruitment and retention problems.

“The resulting rise in EP workloads means that children and young people are waiting far too long to be seen by an EP – or worse, don’t get to see an EP at all. We need local authorities to stem the workforce exodus and make sure our children have access to the specialist support that EPs offer, when they need it.”

The union says its members will consider a new pay offer made on Tuesday before taking any further steps.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted both Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council for comment.

SBC has declined to comment saying the dispute is a national matter and not one between the staff and the authority itself.

Terence Herbert, chief executive of Wiltshire Council, said: “We have been formally notified of the result of the national ballot but have had no confirmation or details of any specific strike action as of yet.

 “However, if strike action takes place then we will work with the relevant teams to manage service delivery as effectively as possible.”