Your World offers diverse SLT job opportunities, including locum roles for qualified professionals.
Whether you are looking for speech and language therapy jobs (SLT jobs) in acute, community or school settings throughout the NHS and private sector, Your World has the pick of the SLT jobs for you.
With the best choice of available jobs, our specialist SLT recruitment consultants have a reputation for placing high-quality applicants in a variety of speech therapist jobs across the UK on either a locum or permanent basis.
Healthcare professionals in SLT jobs will use their specialist skills alongside carers, teachers and other health professionals to help clients communicate and/or feed themselves more successfully. They will work with children and adults who:
These problems may be the result of a range of diseases and disabilities, from head injuries to Parkinson’s disease, a stroke or cancer.
Speech and language therapist jobs entail observing clients and assessing their capabilities using specialised tests, then planning therapy programmes appropriate to their needs. SLTs also provide support and motivation for the client and give advice and assistance to parents and carers to help them continue the therapy at home. The role can be in a hospital’s therapy department, running a clinic or visiting patients on wards. However, the job might also see the SLT visiting patients at home – this is why some SLT posts require you to have a driving licence.
To practice as an SLT, you must have a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)-approved undergraduate or postgraduate degree in speech and language therapy, covering both theory and clinical practice (which takes place in hospitals, schools(term time only typically) and day centres, supervised by qualified therapists).
Specialisms within Speech and Language:
Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy: Focus on children experiencing developmental delays in speech, language, and communication. Therapists work with issues such as articulation disorders, language delays, and social communication disorders like autism spectrum disorder.
Adult Neurological Rehabilitation: Assist adults recovering from neurological conditions (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury) that affect their speech, language, cognition, and swallowing.
Voice Disorders: Assess and treat voice disorders, which may result from misuse of the voice, vocal cord damage, or diseases affecting the larynx. Therapists work to improve voice quality, pitch, and volume control.
Fluency Disorders: Treat stuttering and cluttering; SLTs help individuals develop techniques to improve their fluency and communication confidence.
Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia): Assess and treat individuals with swallowing difficulties that may arise from various medical conditions, ensuring safe and efficient swallowing to prevent malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia.
Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Conditions: Work with individuals affected by congenital conditions like cleft lip and palate, addressing speech production, resonance, and feeding issues.
Learning Disabilities: Support individuals with learning disabilities, helping them develop communication skills to enhance their social interaction and independence.
Deafness and Hearing Impairment: Support individuals who are deaf or have hearing impairments using techniques that may include sign language, lip-reading, and the use of technology to facilitate communication.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): For individuals unable to communicate verbally, SLTs specialise in AAC to provide communication aids and strategies, ranging from picture boards to sophisticated speech-generating devices.
A qualified speech and language therapist can expect a starting salary of between £21,692 and £28,180 a year for general Speech and Language Therapy jobs. Should an SLT choose to specialise and work with a particular client group – children with special educational needs, for example – they can expect a salary of between £26,041 and £34,876.
Given how closely speech and language therapists work with their clients and how important it is for them to build rapport and trust with them, they must have excellent communication and listening skills. They are also there to motivate and inspire patients when their course of treatment proves tough, so being patient, caring and encouraging is a must.
With nearly 14,000 SLTs in the UK practising within the NHS, schools, charities and private practices, there’s never been a better time to make the most of working in speech and language therapy jobs. Whether you want to work full-time or part-time, locum speech and language therapy jobs allow professionals to work flexibly. They can offer the opportunity to explore different speciality paths they might like to take. However, remember that you won’t qualify for sick pay, a pension or maternity benefits.
Contracts for speech and language therapy locum work will often vary between three to six months and may help to progress a career in the field quicker than a permanent contract. Some locum appointments may even count towards your training, so you’ll have peace of mind while waiting for a permanent position to be advertised.
