Speech and language therapy

Also called SALT, SLT, Speech therapy

Therapy for communication and sometimes eating and drinking. In education law it is usually educational provision.

What it is

Speech and language therapy addresses difficulties with understanding, expression, speech sounds, social communication, fluency and voice, and sometimes eating, drinking and swallowing.

Therapists are registered with the HCPC and most are employed by the NHS.

Where it applies

Children with speech, language and communication needs — one of the largest categories of SEND, and strongly associated with both learning difficulties and behaviour that gets misread.

How it works

The point that matters legally: the SEND Code of Practice states that since communication is so fundamental to education, speech and language therapy should normally be treated as educational provision and therefore recorded in Section F of an EHCP — not Section G.

That distinction is the difference between an absolute duty on the council and no enforceable duty at all, and councils get it wrong routinely.

Most direct therapy in practice is delivered as a programme by school staff, with the therapist reviewing. Whether that is enough is a legitimate question.

What you can ask for

Ask for SALT to be in Section F, quantified: how many direct sessions, by whom, how often, plus how much therapist time for training and review of staff-delivered work.

Ask who delivers the programme day to day and what training they have had.

Ask what happens in school holidays and when the therapist is on leave. Programmes commonly lapse for a term without anyone noticing.

Where to get help

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and ASLTIP for independent therapists. IPSEA on the Section F versus Section G point.