Previous board meetings

Wednesday 25 September 2024

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 25 September 2024.

Meeting summary

• The meeting opened with a workshop on the RCSLT’s financial investments.
• The board heard a member story from apprentice speech and language therapist Jessie.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes and actions of the meeting held on Wednesday 3 July 2024.
• A paper was discussed about a recent Equality, Diversity and Inclusion event with member groups and the RCSLTs work in this area.
• The Chief Executive provided an update on his recent work including his visits to members across the UK and meetings with key stakeholders.
• The board discussed the risk register, key performance indicators and operating plan.
• The board had an update from the recent Professional Practice and Policy Committee (PPPC) meeting.
• The board received an update on a project looking at the SLT workforce, commissioned by NHS England.
• A financial overview was presented along with the latest forecasts for 2024/2025.
• The board approved the recommendations from the Nominations Committee for a lay trustee appointment which will be ratified at the Annual General Meeting in October 2024.
• A paper was presented for consideration with recommendations from the Finance and Resources Committee for membership fees on 2025/26.

Wednesday 3 July 2024

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 3 July 2024.

Meeting summary

• The meeting opened with a member story from Gemma, a speech and language therapist from Northern Ireland.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes and actions of the meeting held on 20 March 2024.
• The Chief Executive provided an update on his recent work including his visits to members across the UK, meetings with key stakeholders and the launch of a new leadership programme for SLTs.
• The board discussed the risk register, key performance indicators and operating plan.
• The Director of Engagement and Communications presented the results of the recent member survey.
• The board had an update from the recent Professional Practice and Policy Committee (PPPC) meeting.
• A financial overview was presented, along with an update on the recent financial audit and the finalisation of the Annual Report and Statutory Accounts.
• The board had an update on the new leadership programme to support SLTs to become future leaders. The programme begins in the autumn with 18 places available.
• The board approved the recommendations from the Nominations Committee for Trustee and Committee appointments and these individuals will be ratified at the Annual General Meeting in October 2024.

Wednesday 20 March 2024

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 20 March 2024.

Meeting summary

• The chair welcomed two students who joined to observe some aspects of the board.
• The meeting opened with a member story from newly qualified SLT, Chloe.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes and actions of the meeting held on 13 December 2023.
• The Chief Executive provided an update on his recent work including his visits to member across the UK and meetings with MPs.
• The board discussed a paper on the roles of Honorary Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents and Ambassadors
• The board received updates on the implementation of four of the eight focus areas of RCSLT’s operating plans from trustee sponsors.
• Board members took part in a workshop on clinical guidance.
• The board had an update from the recent Professional Practice and Policy Committee (PPPC) meeting.
• The Chief Executive presented a paper on a leadership programme for speech and language therapists.
• The board received an update on the RCSLT commercial strategy.
• The board discussed plans for conference 2025.

Wednesday 13 December 2023

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 13 December 2023.

Meeting summary

• The chair welcomed four new trustees to the board.
• The meeting opened with a member story from Charlotte, an SLT manager in the NHS.
• The board discussed some newly developed values for RCSLT.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes of 28 September 2023 meeting the actions from the previous meeting and also the minutes of the recently held Annual General Meeting.
• The Chief Executive provided an update on his recent work including his visits to member across the UK and the various events we have held over the last quarter, including our conference.
• The board received updates on the implementation of the four of the eight focus areas of RCSLT’s operating plans from trustee sponsors.
• The board received a presentation on data analysed from the member profile project.
• An update was provided on actions from the workshop held at the previous board meeting on public affairs and influencing.
• Board members took part in a workshop to look at priorities for RCSLT for 2024/2025.
• A paper was presented for discussion on the risk and merits of making some or all of our clinical guidance publicly available on the website.
• The board received a paper on external influencing activity from the last 12 months.
• The board had an update from the recent Professional Practice and Policy Committee (PPPC) meeting.
• A paper was presented on proposed updates to our data protection policy to ensure we are compliant with data protection laws.
• The Chief Executive presented a paper on a proposed leadership programme for speech and language therapists.
• The board received updates on progress on key performance indicators (KPIs), the risk register and financial performance and projections.
• The board had a discussion about recent world events and agreed the RCSLT approach outlined in our recent statement, was the right one for  the organisation at this time.

Thursday 28 September 2023

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Thursday 28 September 2023.

Meeting summary

• The meeting opened with a member story from James, an SLT in Scotland who works with children with eating disorders.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes of 5 July meeting and the actions from the previous meeting.
• The CEO provided an update on his recent work including his visits to member across the UK and several meetings with politicians.
• The board received updates on the implementation of the eight focus areas of RCSLT’s operating plans from trustee sponsors.
• A paper was presented to the board for consideration regarding a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) on Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
• The board agreed the agenda and resolutions for the next Annual General Meeting scheduled for 8 November 2023.
• The board took part in a workshop on political lobbying and influencing to look at the opportunities for improvement in this area.
• An update was provided on actions from the workshop held at the previous board meeting on member engagement.
• The board had an update from the recent Professional Practice and Policy Committee (PPPC) meeting.
• The Chief Executive presented a paper on work relating to the NHS Workforce Plan for England.
• The board received updates on progress on key performance indicators (KPIs), the risk register and financial performance and projections.
• A paper on a commercial strategy was presented to the board for consideration, to look at opportunities to diversify income sources.
• The board debated a paper regarding the recruitment of vice presidents to help raise the profile of RCSLT and its members in political spheres.

Wednesday 5 July 2023

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 5 July 2023.

Meeting summary

• The meeting opened by hearing from Eleanor, an RCSLT member who talked about her career journey from working in an acute adult care team to a role in Health Education England as a RePAIR (Reducing Pre-registration Attrition and Improving Retention).
• It was followed by recent Advancing Healthcare Award winner Catherine who told the board about her achievements in establishing a new Fiberendoscopic Evaluation of Swallow (FEES) assessment service using endoscopy.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes of 23 March 2023 meeting and the actions from the previous meeting.
• The CEO provided an update on his recent work including; speaking at an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on speech and language therapy, meeting a number of MPs, speaking at several RCSLT events and undertaking media interviews including for the Sunday Telegraph and on ITV News.
• The board had an update from the chair of Professional Practice and Policy Committee (PPPC).
• The board took part in a workshop on member engagement and how we can better use our networks including hubs and Clinical Excellence Networks.
• The board received updates on the implementation of the eight focus areas of RCSLT’s operating plans from trustee sponsors.
• There was an update from the nominations committee on recent recruitment to the board. The new appointments will be ratified at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in November.
• The board agreed the winners of fellow and honorary fellowship awards. The successful winners will be announced in the autumn and invited to a celebratory event in October.
• The board received updates on progress on key performance indicators (KPIs), the risk register and financial performance and projections.

Tuesday 23 March 2023

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Tuesday 23 March 2023.

Meeting summary

• The meeting opened with the Chair welcoming the incoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and recognising it was the last board meeting for the outgoing CEO.
• The board heard from RCSLT member Aysha on her career journey, passion for research and involvement in the development of some RCSLT guidance.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes of 13 December 2022 meeting and the actions from the previous meeting.
• The CEO provided an updated on her recent work including attending:
  • Being involved in the Urgent and Emergency Care Strategy Expert Reference Group and working with NHS England and the Department of Education to campaign to ensure that the needs of children with speech, language and communication needs are prioritised.
  • The recent HCPC fees increase – and our work to raise concerns in partnership with AHPF.
  • An update on the work of the Covid-19 Airborne Transmission Alliance (CATA) which RCSLT is a founder member. The CEO is vice chair and will continue in this role, representing RCSLT after her retirement.
• The board took part in a workshop on a range of issues regarding the speech and language therapy workforce, led by the professional development team.
• The board received updates on the implementation of the eight focus areas of RCSLT’s operating plans from trustee sponsors.
• The board received updates on progress on key performance indicators (KPIs), the risk register and financial performance and projections.

Tuesday 13 December 2022

Below is a summary of the meeting held on Tuesday 13 December 2022.

Meeting summary

• The meeting opened with a member story from Jack who gave a synopsis of his story from deciding to become an SLT, through studying, qualifying and starting his first job. Trustees praised Jack’s creativity, honesty and energy for the profession.
• The board reviewed and approved the minutes of 5 October 2022 meeting and the actions from the previous meeting.
• The board approved the minutes of the 2022 annual general meeting and these will be made available online.
• The CEO updated the board on some of the key issues impacting the profession:
  – The challenges in children’s services particularly in respect of Covid and the ongoing demand and capacity issues.
  – The cost-of-living crisis and the need to promote the Welfare Fund to members
• The director of policy and public affairs presented the External Impact Report from the policy and public affairs team which included external impact from across the organisation.
• The board received a presentation on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), which is one of the eight focus areas within the RCSLT Strategic Vision 2022-27. The presentation included an overview on progress made in supporting members to be actively anti racist, diversity in the workforce and meeting the needs of diverse populations. The board discussed and commented:
  –  Interesting to see an increase in the number of students
  –  The need to embed EDI into work rather than just discussed
  –  The power of networks
  –  The increasing number of SLTs
  –  The need to bring more people in from lower economic social backgrounds
  –  The reduction in senior SLT posts across the country
  –  The need for EDI to be front and centre of all we do.
• The board received updates on the implementation of the eight focus areas of RCSLT’s operating plans from trustee sponsors.
• The board received updates on progress on key performance indicators (KPIs), the risk register and financial performance and projections.