West Midlands
Speech & Language Therapy Service
for Education

Full Statement: I qualified as a Speech & Language Therapist in 1995 and spent my first 10 years of practice working within the NHS in Worcestershire and Birmingham. In 2005, I became an independent practitioner working within mainstream and special primary schools.

Since this time, I have developed a wide range of clinical skills working within primary and secondary schools with children who have; learning difficulties, specific language impariment, dyspraxia, phonological difficulties and communication difficulties associated with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

I have been involved in the development of several assessment tools and communication resources for school staff and have a keen interest in working with educators to transfer and share skills to help support children in school with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

Full Statement: I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in July 1996. Since this time, I have worked in the NHS and as an Independent Practitioner. I specialise in working with children and young adults who have Special Educational Needs. This has included working closely with children who have physical difficulties, an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or learning difficulties.

I was registered as an Intermediary in January 2004 (certified by the Inns of Court School of Law) and since then I have supported many vulnerable witnesses in the judicial system.

I am a regional Makaton signing tutor (qualifying in April 1999) and also specialise in Augmentative and Alternative systems of Communication (AAC). I am experienced in using several different symbol systems, to support somebody’s communication and I also hold a postgraduate qualification in Paediatric Dysphagia (swallowing disorders).

“I qualified as an Occupational Therapist from Coventry University in 2007, and in 2020 received my post graduate sensory integration practitioner status.  After completing a rotational post within the NHS in my first year post qualification, I quickly realised working with children and young people was the area I wanted to specialise.  Prior to my move the WMSLT in October 2019, I have had over 10 years’ experience of working within core NHS services within the West Midlands.  This experience has enabled me to develop my clinical skills in assessment and intervention, with a variety of clinical diagnoses (Developmental Coordination Disorder, Autism and Cerebral Palsy) and functional difficulties. (more…)

“My passion for Speech and Language Therapy was fuelled following the birth of my daughter, who has complex speech, language and communication needs. I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2004, from Birmingham City University and have worked as both an NHS Therapist and Independent Practitioner.  I started with WMSLT in 2014 and became Secondary Service Lead in 2020.

I specialise in working with adolescents and young people with a range of speech, language and communication needs, and have a clinical interest in Developmental Language Disorder across all age groups. As part of my Service Lead role, I am involved in service development and leading on good practice across the mainstream secondary service. (more…)

“I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2003 and have worked as both an NHS therapist and Independent Practitioner. I have worked for WMSLT since 2016 and became Mainstream Primary Service Lead in 2018.

I specialize in working with children in mainstream primary settings, this has included working with a wide range of speech, language and communication need including Developmental Language Disorder, ASD, learning difficulties, stammering and speech sound delays/disorders. (more…)

“I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2015 and have been working in the independent sector ever since. I have recently started working for WMSLT and am working in both mainstream primary and specialist provisions.

I have experience of working with children with a wide range of speech, language, and communication needs. I also enjoy supporting the adults around the child to ensure the child is able to communicate to the best of their ability.

I am also the team leader for the SEN service within the company. I am looking forward to developing this role and supporting my colleagues who work in the SEN service.”

“I qualified as a Speech & Language Therapist in 2007 and have spent most of my career within the NHS. I’ve recently started working for WMSLT within both primary and secondary school settings.

I specialise in working with children & young people with social communication difficulties, Autism, and social emotional mental health needs, but have a wide range of experience across a variety of speech, language & communication needs.”

“I have been practicing with WMSLT since I graduated from BCU. I specialise working with secondary-aged students across mainstream and AP settings. I enjoy delivering whole-school training and am a firm believer in communication-supportive learning environments, becoming a Word Aware Trainer in 2021. My practice is embracing of functional communication and a neurodiversity-affirming approach.

Interest in the areas of SEMH and Selective Mutism spurred me to take on a Clinical Lead position within the team. I began my role as Team Leader for Primary and Secondary school therapists in 2023, and am involved in service development, supporting colleagues, and communications & marketing.”

“I studied at Birmingham City University and achieved my BSC in speech and language therapy in 2015, I have worked for WMSLT since qualifying and have enjoyed supporting individuals within Nurseries, Mainstream schools and within ASC resource bases.

I also enjoy working collaboratively with school staff, teachers, parents and other therapists. Along with providing training and support to ensure our clients’ needs are holistically met. My clinical areas of interest include, speech sound delays/disorders, DLD and early communicators with ASC. “

“I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from Leicester Polytechnic in 1992. I worked for the NHS for 20 years, working first in Leicester and then in Bristol. In both areas, I predominantly worked in community clinics with pre-school and school aged children. I have always been passionate about working closely with parents and was a lead therapist for the Hanen programme during my time in Bristol.

I began working for WMSLT in 2013 and have recently taken on the role of NQP support within the team. I currently work with children in mainstream primary schools who have a wide range of speech, language and communication needs including ASC, DLD, speech sound delay/disorder and stammering. (more…)

“I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1988 from Sheffield University. I worked for many years in the NHS where I supported children with a range of speech and language difficulties within a variety of settings. This included working in a Language Resource Base for 11 years.

I joined WMSLT in 2014 and have continued to develop my knowledge and skills with Mainstream primary aged children. I have been involved in delivering training, including whole school inset days and aim to support not just the child, but parents and teaching staff too.”

“I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from BCU in 2011. I have worked for WMSLT since 2013 in a range of educational settings from primary, secondary and specialist provision (primary, secondary and further education). I work with a wide range of individuals with speech, language and communication needs. My clinical areas of interest are autism, learning difficulties with paediatric and adult client groups. I have more recently taken on a developing clinical lead role for the team in supporting ASC and AAC which I’m looking forward to expanding to support colleagues and individuals on caseload.”

“I started my working life in academia, working on clinical trials and supporting evidence-based practice in a range of clinical areas.  Later, I worked for the NHS in the local Cancer Network and worked on health services research projects.  After a break to have children and time spent volunteering at a local school with a Language Resource Base, I decided to retrain as a Speech and Language Therapist and graduated from Birmingham City University in July 2022.  Since this time, I have been working as a Newly Qualified Speech and Language Therapist with WMSLT based in mainstream primary schools.  (more…)

“I joined West Midlands Speech and Language Therapy after qualifying as a speech and language therapist in 2022.

I am enjoying getting to work with a range of children with differing strengths and needs having previously worked with children from newborn to young adults in a variety of settings.

I feel really fortunate to be part of the West Midlands team and the chance to continue to develop my skills as a therapist.”

“I qualified as speech and language therapist in 2021 and I have recently completed my newly qualified practitioner status (NQP). After many years of working in other disciplines, and then several more years of training I’m excited to finally be working in my new profession. I am currently working with children in mainstream provision across all age groups and I enjoy being in both primary and secondary school settings.”

“I started at WMSLT in June 2021, after graduating from Birmingham City University in Speech and Language Therapy. I am currently working in a  mixture of primary and secondary schools across Birmingham supporting children and young people with a wide range of strengths and needs. Each day I feel privileged to work alongside unique individuals, aiming to help them overcome communication challenges and barriers they face.

Since working for WMSLT I have accessed Makaton, Level 1 training, and PECS and look forward to furthering my skills as I progress in my career!”

“I joined WMSLT as a newly qualified therapist in January 2020. Since joining, I have had the privilege of working with teaching staff, parents and children in resource base and mainstream schools across Birmingham.

I currently support children in mainstream primary schools who have a wide range of speech, language and communication needs including Developmental Language Disorder, ASC, Stammering and Speech Sound Delays/Disorders. I thoroughly enjoy providing direct support for the children I work with as well as training and enabling those around the child on how they can support communication development.”

My name is Lucy and I am thrilled to be working at WMSLT!

I have 12 years of experience working with children in a mainstream primary school. For the last 7 years, this involved me specifically helping children with a range of speech and language needs. I have supported children with ASC, DLD, speech sound difficulties, and stammering.  During this time,

I was fortunate to work with lots of different therapists and learned many strategies speech and language related.

Hi my name is Michele and I am a new member of the WMSLT. I am employed as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant.

My background is working with SEN children within a SEN school setting. I worked there as a TA for 14 years. Within my time there I became a communication champion and developed a passion for all aspects of speech and language therapy. This inspired me to apply for this new role.

I am currently working within mainstream schools alongside their staff to help support their SEN children with their Speech and Language needs.

“With over 15 years of experience, I’ve dedicated my career to supporting children with Special Educational Needs, specializing in Speech and Language and autism across mainstream, resource bases, and special school settings. Collaborating with NHS and private speech therapists, I’ve implemented diverse communication improvement strategies, from articulation to emotional recognition. Proficient in various Augmentative and Alternative Communication systems, including PECS, Communication books and Makaton, I thrive on the variety of my work. Utilizing my extensive knowledge, I am eager to bring my passion and skills to the fabulous West Midlands Speech and Language Therapy Team.”

“I joined WMSLT in September as a newly qualified therapist, after graduating from Birmingham City University in July 2023. I am currently working with children who have a variety of speech, language, and communication needs in mainstream primary and secondary schools. I am really enjoying getting to know and working with the children on my caseloads. I am also enjoying liaising with staff members to provide targeted and universal support throughout the schools. I am currently working towards my RCSLT competencies and am excited to continue my career within the WMSLT team”.

“I have worked with children for over 20 years and qualified in July 2023 as a speech and language therapist from BCU and joined West Midlands speech and language therapy team. I am working across all age groups in mainstream primary and secondary schools. I am delivering direct therapy and enabling sessions to school staff supporting children with speech, language, and communication needs. As an NQP I am currently working towards my professional competency with the guidance of my fantastic colleagues.”

“I joined WMSLT as a newly qualified Speech and Language Therapist in June 2023. I am working with children who have a wide range of speech, language, and communication needs in nurseries, mainstream primary schools, and secondary schools. I really enjoy providing support to the children I work with as well as working alongside school staff to enable them to support speech, language, and communication development.”

“I have worked with children for 18 years either in nursery or primary settings. Over the last 4 years I have been working with children with SEND, ranging from ASC, Developmental delay and also a rare condition called Smith Magenis. Over that time, I worked alongside a speech and language therapist to support the children I worked with and fell in love with the role. Now I am lucky enough to do it every day with the expertise and support of the amazing team I work with.”

“I have 20 years’ experience working with children who have SEND across many platforms as a TA and in managerial roles, within early years, primary and secondary education. SALT has always been a huge interest of mine and having observed so many therapists deliver SALT over the years, I am now excited to start my new journey as part of WMSLT. I will be working in primary, secondary and specialist settings.”

“I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist in 1993 from what is now called Birmingham City University. I originally worked in the NHS across Adult and Paediatric settings covering everything from in-patient wards, rehabilitation settings, community clinics and schools. I took a break from directly using my skills due to family commitments. I continued using my knowledge in many personal and voluntary environments until I was offered opportunities to be employed to support Speech and Language needs in a number of schools.  In the position of a teaching assistant, for nearly ten years. I utilised the knowledge from my qualification to implement the Language Link Program and interventions set by NHS and Independent Speech and Language Therapists. (more…)

“I graduated from University with a degree in Childhood and Family, Inclusion and Special Needs studies in 2019. Whilst attending Uni and since then I have worked in both mainstream and special school settings supporting children who have SEND, primarily Autism, as an LSA and TA. I have always been interested in Speech and Language Therapy, supporting children with SLCN. I am now very privileged to be a part of such an amazing team as WMSLT, pursuing my career.”

“I joined the NHS in 1988 and worked with Adults with Learning Disabilities within a Day Service Setting in North Warwickshire. I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant in 1996 (Bournville Collage). I have worked in several NHS settings with both children and adults with learning disabilities, challenging behavior and ASC. I worked in an ASC Special school (Primary) for 15 years before joining WMSLT as their first SALTA in 2018. I work with primary aged children within Mainstream and Special Schools. My main areas of working include – Early Communication, PECS, ASC, Attention Autism and Lego therapy.”

I began my journey in to education as a Level 2 Teaching Assistant whilst I gained my qualification as a Level 3 Teaching Assistant. I worked in the PMLD provision at a school for 4 and a half years and supported the students with their daily communication needs with a responsibility point in communication and AAC. I have now been working as part of the West Midlands Speech and Language Therapy team as a SLTA for just over 5 years and have the additional role of AAC Support within the company. I work closely with students with SLCN, specifically those with autism, across EYFS, Primary, Secondary Resource base and Adults in college settings. I have a great passion for all AAC high-tech and low-tech, but I especially love Makaton. I create a weekly Makaton video for the company staff, who share this with the schools we attend as well as parents. This also gets shared across our social media platforms by the social media team. In January 2023 I began a new role within the company as a Speech and Language Therapy Apprentice and am gaining my degree as a Speech and Language Therapist at BCU.