RCSLT Awards 2024
The RCSLT Awards are an opportunity to recognise the achievements of our members and celebrate those who have supported and championed speech and language therapy and made a difference to the lives of service users.
This year we revamped our old Giving Voice awards into eight new RCSLT Awards categories to celebrate the impactful activities and achievements of those who have contributed to improving the lives of people with communication and/or swallowing needs. Alongside these we also have our annual Honours Awards, which recognise leaders at all levels within and outside the profession who have made outstanding contributions for the benefit of service users and the profession itself.
We received almost a hundred nominations across all the categories, showcasing the breadth of work taking place across the UK.
The shortlisted nominees are:
Championing the value and impact of speech and language therapy
- Invest in SLT Petition – championing the importance and need to invest in speech and language therapy to the Government
- Kim Jenkins – outstanding contributions to raising awareness of the role of SLTs within youth justice
- Laura Cole – incorporating an SLT into the Greater Manchester mental health homeless service, providing access to the vulnerable homeless population
- Sign it Sing it: Michael Carlin and the Tayside Makaton Choir – showcasing the benefits of Makaton and the joy it can bring to those with communication difficulties
Co-production with service user partners and their families
- Communication Café – co-creating a space for people with communication difficulties
- The Coproduced EPID tool – early parent child interaction with deaf children
- HCS Sheffield Dysarthria Clinic – the world’s first Dysarthria Awareness Day
- RCSLT Autism Guidance project team – co-producing clinical guidance on autism in line with neurodiversity affirming practice
Developing and supporting the profession
- Dr Faiza Badar – training graduates to develop skills in speech and language therapy in Pakistan
- Head and Neck Integrated Team (HANIT): SLT fast-track education programme
Excellence in research and development
- Dysphagia as a prognostic indicator – recognising the correlation between dysphagia and death soon after to ensure timely and appropriate end of life care
- Katherine Toft – evaluating the clinical utility and psychometric properties of the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory questionnaire (MDADI)
Fostering equality, diversity and inclusion
- Lauren Flannery: Communication access project at UEA – promoting communication access for all
- Leigh Andrews: Change Communication – addressing communication barriers in homelessness services and beyond
- Polmont Communication Friendly Environment – creating a better environment for young people with speech, language and communication needs in prison
Innovative solutions and new ways of working
- Communication Intervention Team (ComIT): Interactive SLCN/DLD RADLD Bubble Toolkit – providing resources to identify and support SLCN/DLD learners
- Head and Neck Integrated Team (HANIT) SLT workforce model – developing a unique, integrated service working together across different organisations
- Implementing a Community FEES service within the South East London Community Head and Neck Cancer Team
Inspiring leadership in speech and language therapy
- Dysphagia NI – a regional partnership approach to support people with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties
- Lizzie King – leading on updating evidence on the use of thickened fluids to support patient care
- Marian Molloy – developing the SLT service within Healthcare in Prison in Northern Ireland
The final winners for each of these categories, alongside our Honours Awards and Rising Star award winners, will be announced at our annual Awards event in October.
Further information about the award categories can be found on the next tab.
Award categories
Championing the value and impact of speech and language therapy
This award recognises an individual or team that has made an outstanding contribution to championing the value and impact of speech and language therapy services. It aims to raise awareness of speech and language therapy and the impact it can have. Entries are welcomed from patient advocates, services users and others working alongside speech and languages therapists as well as members themselves.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- a clear demonstration of how speech and language therapy has made a difference to quality of care and services delivered
- the positive impact of their work for patients, families and colleagues
- the use of a credible evidence base and/or developing an evidence base to underpin their work.
Co-production with service-user partners and their families
This award aims to celebrate effective joint planning and delivery; speech and language therapists working with service-users and their families; or with the third sector.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- positive impact on service-user outcomes, professional development, promotion of the profession
- co-production thoroughly embedded in the project or initiative
- thoughtful consideration and reflection of the collaboration – project management, stakeholders and so on
- effort made to consider the future and long-term plans of the collaboration, including its sustainability.
Developing and supporting the profession
We are looking for entries that demonstrate excellence in innovations in recruitment, wellbeing, retention and/or improve opportunities for career progression. This includes new approaches within education and training in speech and language therapy.
Judges will look for evidence of:
- a professional development or education strategy that has successfully tackled a recruitment or retention issue, or alternatively an initiative that addresses wellbeing or career progression within the profession.
- a narrative that illustrates how the strategy was planned and the journey from implementation to success
- evidence of return on investment and success in terms of how it has met its objectives and demonstrated a positive impact on the profession – please use metrics, anecdotes and case studies.
Excellence in research and development
This award celebrates the achievements of an individual or team who has made an outstanding contribution to research and development in speech and language therapy.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- impact of research for patients and/or the public
- depth of research, evidence of pushing the boundaries of knowledge in the field of speech and language therapy
- potential for future development or application
- engagement and raising the profile of research in speech and language therapy.
Fostering equality, diversity and inclusion
This award seeks to recognise a project, initiative or service that has tackled systemic bias or health inequities to deliver better outcomes for an underserved group or groups.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- co-production/ shared decision-making with patients or service users
- positive impact on service user outcomes in the target underserved group
- approaches that have the potential for learning across speech and language therapy.
Innovative solutions and new ways of working
Speech and language therapists continually adapt to new ways of working to provide more efficient and safer services. This award seeks to recognise innovative ways of working that have been introduced and have the potential to become firmly embedded in our health systems.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- innovative ideas that have led to new or transformed ways of working in the
health and care system - evidence of positive impact on service user outcomes, productivity, and or value
- ideas that have the potential to be scaled up and implemented widely across the health system.
Inspiring leadership in speech and language therapy
This award is for leaders in speech and language therapy at all levels who can demonstrate how they developed and used their leadership skills to benefit patients, clients, families and carers.
The judges will be looking for evidence of:
- leadership and partnership working
- vision and drive for your project or service
- commitment and resilience
- effective leadership to enhance quality of patient care and sound evaluation
Rising star
For this award we are inviting you to nominate a colleague or member of staff who has shown a level of initiative, skill and commitment that is truly exceptional. You may nominate anyone working as a speech and language therapist, researcher, educator, or support worker working in the profession or closely aligned to the profession for less than five years and who you and others recognise as a star in the making.
This is an open award with no rigid criteria, so tell us their story. We are looking for people who stand out from the crowd and have already shown courage in meeting professional or personal challenges, displaying determination, creativity, intelligence and bravery; people who have continued to develop their skills and evidence-based practice since qualifying and flourished in whatever setting they have found themselves.
About the Honours Awards
Since 1945 these awards have recognised leaders at all levels within and outside the profession who have made outstanding contributions to service users and the profession itself.
Download the Honours Roll Call 1945-2023 (PDF).
To nominate someone for a Fellowship or Honorary Fellowship Award, you must be a certified RCSLT member. Each nomination must also have a seconder who is also an RCSLT member.
Fellowships recognise speech and language therapists and speech and language therapy assistants who are members of the RCSLT and have demonstrated the impact of their work for service users and/or the profession, beyond what would be expected from their core role and job purpose. The impact of their work might be at a local, national or international level or a combination of these. The impact may be felt within the profession and/or across other professions or sectors. Any RCSLT member, no matter where they are employed or their level of seniority, can be awarded a Fellowship.
Areas of contribution could include but are not exclusive to:
- Clinical
- Leadership
- Teaching
- Research
- Community impact
- Influencing and/ or policy impact
- Promotion of the profession
- Excellence in practice education
- Co-production
Nominations are expected to provide evidence of impact and outcomes over and above what would normally be expected in their role.
Honorary Fellowships acknowledge and honour non-members of the RCSLT who have demonstrated outstanding contribution to service users and the profession. This may include non-speech and language therapists and speech and language therapists from overseas.
Areas of contribution could include but are not exclusive to:
- Clinical
- Leadership
- Teaching
- Research
- Community impact
- Influencing and/ or policy impact
- Promotion of the profession
- Excellence in practice education
Nominations are expected to provide evidence of impact and outcomes over and above what would normally be expected in their role.
RCSLT Awards 2023
Last year the RCSLT awards ceremony took place on 6 October 2023. During the ceremony we gave out nine Fellowships, three Honorary fellowships and 22 Giving Voice Awards.
You can view images from our awards ceremony below.
