RCSLT workforce survey 2026 Δ Step 1 of 5 20% Welcome to RCSLT’s speech and language therapy workforce surveyWhy complete the survey this year? Please share your workforce experiences with us so that we can gauge the challenges faced by speech and language therapy services and the impacts on those that we support. Where speech and language therapy services experience high vacancy rates, the RCSLT highlights these concerns to Government and champions sustainable solutions. Who should complete the survey? All managers of a UK speech and language therapy service (including NHS and non-NHS services) should report on experiences of that speech and language therapy service. If you are not a manager, please forward the invitation email/link to your manager and ask them to complete this information on your behalf. How long will it take? This survey takes 10-15 mins to complete. What definitions are being used? Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) is a standardised measure of the workload of an employed person.(1.0 WTE equates to a full-time working week of roughly 37 hours, an WTE of 0.5 would equate to roughly 18.5 hours per week.) We are collecting a snapshot of data as of 1st January 2026. When do I need to complete it by? Please share your experiences by 5pm 27th February 2026. Consent and communication preferencesThe RCSLT will process the information provided within this form in line with its specified purposes and with full adherence to the regulations.Will my speech and language therapy service be identifiable? No. Individual services will not be identifiable. Results will be collated by UK country (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and by region in England. Where fewer than five responses are returned from one region, we will not report on information at that level. Will I need to share my name? No. We will not automatically collect your name or email address. However, you may choose to share your details in order to reduce duplication and enable us to check inconsistencies or potential inaccuracies. If you choose to share your contact details, we will not share that information outside of the RCSLT. Will I have access to the RCSLT findings? Yes. If you share your contact details we will send the findings directly to you and you can use them to highlight the workforce challenges experienced by your service. Alternatively, the findings will be shared on the RCSLT website and social media by summer 2026. Will I be able to withdraw my response?Completing this survey is optional. We will be able to withdraw your responses at any point up until the information has been analysed, if you have shared contact details with us. Without your contact information we will not be able to distinguish your responses from others in your region. Where will my response be stored? Your response will be stored within a secure RCSLT cloud server and will be accessible only to authorised RCSLT staff. For more information about how we use your information, your rights and how to contact us, please see our Privacy Notice: https://www.rcslt.org/privacy-notice/Consent for analysis(Required) I have read the information provided about the Speech and Language Therapy Workforce Survey. I give my consent for the information I submit to be analysed by RCSLT and included in anonymised findings.Contact permissions(Required)RCSLT may contact me via email about my survey responses or to request feedback on the survey process. Agree to be contacted Disagree My Email address is:(Required) About you and your serviceMy name is: First Last Organisation name:(Required)Please tell us about your speech and language therapy service(Required)When completing this survey, are you providing information for: NHS service Independent provider of an NHS service Independent service with no NHS contract Education/local authority (non-NHS) Other What country is your service in?(Required) England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Non-UK How many SLTs in your service are able to deliver services through the medium of Welsh [enter headcount]Please enter a number from 0 to 500.What region is your service in?Please selectEast of EnglandEast MidlandsLondonNorth EastNorth WestSouth EastSouth WestWest MidlandsYorkshire and HumberMore than one of the above About your speech and language therapy workforce Please provide figures in the relevant column for each client group your service works with. Client groups are segmented into: Children Adults Children and adult combined: only if you are not able to report separate figures for children’s and adult services Adult learning disabilities (ALD): if not already included in the adult count Establishment (WTE):What was your total planned qualified speech and language therapy workforce in your service on a whole time equivalent (WTE) basis as of 1st January 2026 (including filled AND vacant posts)?Children's estabPlease enter a number from 0 to 500.Adult estabPlease enter a number from 0 to 500.Children & adult combined estabPlease enter a number from 0 to 500.ALD estabPlease enter a number from 0 to 500.Vacancies (WTE):What was the number of whole time equivalent (WTE) qualified speech and language therapist (SLT) vacancies in your service as of 1st January 2026?Children's vacanciesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Adult vacanciesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Children & adult combined vacanciesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.ALD vacanciesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Leavers (WTE):What was the number of whole time equivalent (WTE) qualified SLTs in your service who left their job between 1st January 2025 and 1st January 2026? This should not include those who have handed in their notice, but not yet left officially, as they’ll be counted in the following year’s survey.Children's leaversPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Adult leaversPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Children & adult combined leaversPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.ALD leaversPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Apprentice headcountWhat was the HEADCOUNT of SLT apprentices in post in your service as of 1st January 2026?Children's apprenticesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Adult apprenticesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.Children & adult combined apprenticesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99.ALD apprenticesPlease enter a number from 0 to 99. Recruitment and retention challengesIs the existing number of qualified SLT posts sufficient to meet the needs of your service? Yes, it’s about right No, it’s too low Unsure Has the number of qualified SLT posts in your service been CUT in the last year? Yes, it has reduced No, it has remained the same No, it has increased Don’t know Has the number of qualified SLT posts in your service been FROZEN in the last year? Yes No Don’t know Does your organisation offer practice placements to speech and language therapy pre-registration students or apprentices? Yes No Don’t know How many active SLT practice educators supported a student/apprentice on placement in the past year? [enter headcount]Please enter a number from 0 to 99.What recruitment and retention strategies have you in place for SLTs? (Tick all that apply) SLT apprenticeships Golden hellos Preceptorship Rotational posts Developmental posts Refer a friend None of the above Other If other, please specify:At which band level do you experience the greatest recruitment challenges in your speech and language therapy service? (Tick one only) Band 4 or lower Band 5 Band 6 Band 7 Band 8+ Please provide additional feedback about your speech and language therapy workforce recruitment and retention challenges
