Diversity in the profession: fast facts

Key points

  • The speech and language therapy student population is much less ethnically diverse than the student population as a whole.
  • 23% of the speech and language therapy student population have declared a disability.

Summary

The following statistics focus on the make-up of the speech and language therapy (SLT) student population and its diversity until the end of the 2021/22 academic year. 

In terms of the profession as a whole HCPC published Diversity Report in November 2023 with a 100% response rate from speech and language therapists. We are currently working with our members via our Member Profile project to gain even more insight on the diversity of the profession.

Overview 

  • There has been a steady increase in the number of SLT students between 2018 and 2022.
  • Female students are overrepresented in SLT programmes. 
  • There is a greater proportion of white SLT students than in the student population as a whole.  
  • There has been a significant increase in participation of students from an Asian background across academic years, from 7.6% in 2018/19 to 10.9% in 2021/2022.  
  • Students with mental health conditions and specific learning disabilities together account for over a half of students with disabilities. 
  • Students coming from areas where few people attend university are underrepresented amongst SLT students as compared to all UK domiciled students. 

Note on statistics:

Statistics originate from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 

They are provided for the purpose of considering the make-up and diversity of the speech and language therapy profession. All statistics referring to SLT programmes are rounded according to HESA standard rounding methodology. They remain the property of RCSLT and should not be passed on or published without further permission. 

You can view details and charts on our findings across the following pages. 

Overall dynamics of SLT student numbers

Key findings

  • A steady increase in the number of SLT students has been observed across years 2018-2022. It closely matches the general increasing trends in the Higher Education student numbers.
  • A sharp increase in SLT student admissions was observed in the academic year 2020/2021 – admissions rose by 15% in that year.
  • 33% of SLT pre-registration admissions were for postgraduate courses in 2021/22, this less than in 2018/19 (39%) as the number of undergraduate places has grown faster than the number of postgraduate places.

Graph and bar chart Total SLT student admissions by academic year. 2018-19= 1000, 2019-20 = 1060, 6% increase, 2020-21= 1220, 15% increase, 2021-22= 1245, 2% increase

Graph and bar chart - Total SLT student numbers and their year-to year changes by academic year. 2018 – 19= 2690, 2019- 20 = 2910, 8% increase in SLT students with 3% increase across all Higher Education students, 2020 - 2021 = 3170, 9% increase in SLT students with 9% increase across all Higher Education students, 2021 -2022 = 3340, 5% increase in SLT students with 4% increase across all Higher Education students

SLT student admissions by level of study 2018-2022 bar graph. 2018/19 = 615 students doing their first degree, 385 students doing a postgraduate degree. 2019/20 = 680 students doing their first degree, 380 students doing a postgraduate degree. 2020/21 = 810 students doing their first degree, 410 students doing a postgraduate degree. 2021/22 = 830 students doing their first degree, 410 students doing a postgraduate degree.

Notes
The source data originates from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). All statistics and analysis referring to SLT programmes are rounded according to HESA standard rounding methodology. They remain the property of RCSLT and should not be passed on or published without further permission.

Sources 

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited. 

 

Age

Key findings

  • 60% of pre-registration SLT admissions are over 21 years of age, with 33% being over 25 years of age.
  • SLT first degree programmes have a higher proportion of mature students (26%) compared to all HE first degree programmes (21%). For first degree programmes, a mature student is classed as anyone 25 years or older when they start their studies.

2021/22 pre-reg SLT admissions by age bar chart. 20 and under = 40%. 21-24 years = 26%, 25-29 years = 15%, 30 years and over = 18%.

Admissions of first degree students by age of entry bar chart. 20 and under = 63% SLT students, 68% all HE students, 21-24 years = 12% SLT students, 12% all HE students, 25-29 years old = 9% SLT students, 7% all HE students, 30 years and over = 17% SLT students, 14% all HE students.

Sources

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited.

Gender

Key findings

  • When referenced against the gender of all higher education students, female students are overrepresented in SLT programmes.
  • A significant increase in male participation in admissions to SLT programmes was observed in the academic year 2021/2022.
  • These statistics also include people who have not identified as male or female but the number is too small to report in these graphs.

Bar chart – Gender structure of SLT students compared with whole higher education cohort in academic year 2021/22. SLT students – 96% female, 4% male All higher education students – 57% female, 43% male

Bar graph – Male participation in SLT programmes: proportion of admissions by academic year. 2018-19 – 3.5%, 2019-20 – 3.8%, 2020-21 – 6.0%, 2021-22 – 5.3%

Sources 

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited. 

Ethnicity

Key findings

When referenced against all Higher Education students, there is a greater proportion of white SLT students than in the student population as a whole. However, there has been a significant increase in participation of students of Asian background across academic years, from 7.6% in 2018/19 to 10.9% in 2021/2022.  

Pie chart – SLT students by ethnicity compared to all UK domiciled students in academic year 2021/22. SLT students: White 81%, Other 1%, Mixed 3%, Black 4%, Asian 11%. All UK domiciled students: White 73%, Other 2%, Mixed 5%, Black 8%, Asian 12%.

Sources 

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited. 

Disabilities

Key findings

  • A steady increase in participation of disabled students in SLT programmes has been observed between academic years 2018/2019 and 2021/2022. A part of this increase can be attributed to significant increases in SLT students with mental health conditions.
  • Students with mental health conditions and specific learning disabilities together account for over a half of students with disabilities.

Bar graph Participation of students with disabilities in SLT programmes as compared to all UK domiciled students in Higher Education. SLT students with disabilities: 2018/19 = 21%, 2019/20 = 21%, 2020/21 = 22%, 2021/22 = 23%. All UK domiciled students with disabilities: 2018/19 = 14%, 2019/20 = 15%, 2020/21 = 15%, 2021/22 = 16%

Bar graph Participation of students with a mental health condition in SLT programmes by academic year. 2018-19 = 4.9%, 2019-20 = 5.5%, 2020-21 = 6.1%, 2021-22 = 6.3%

Pie chart: SLT students type of disability 2021/22. No known disability (including unknowns) = 77%, Other = 23%, Specific learning difficulty = 7%, Mental health condition = 6%, Two or more conditions = 4%, A long-standing illness or health condition = 2%, Another disability, impairment or medical condition = 2%, A physical impairment or mobility issues = 1%, Social communication/Autistic spectrum disorder = 1%, Blind or serious visual impairment = 0%, Deaf or a serious hearing impairment = 0%.

 

Sources

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited.

Socio-economic classifications

Key findings

  • 7 in 10 of the SLT students are from households with the backgrounds of intermediate occupations as well as managerial & professional occupations*.
  •  Students coming from low participation neighbourhoods** are underrepresented amongst SLT students as compared to all UK domiciled students.

Definitions:

* Occupation of the parents, stepparents or guardians of students

** The POLAR4 classification is a proxy measurement of how many people go to university from the area a student comes from (not their student address). There are five groups ranging from quintile 1 areas, with the lowest young participation at university (most disadvantaged), up to quintile 5 areas with the highest rates (most advantaged), each representing 20 percent of the UK young student cohort. Low participation (at university) neighbourhoods are defined as quintile 1 in the POLAR 4 classification.

Bar graph – SLT students from low participation neighbourhoods (POLAR 4) as compared to UK domiciled students in academic year 2021/22. SLT Students 10%, UK domiciled students 13%

Pie chart Socioeconomic background of young SLT students studying at first degree level in the academic year 2021/22. Lower managerial and professional occupations = 32%, Intermediate occupations = 13%, Higher managerial and professional occupations = 26%, Semi routine occupations = 9%, Small employers and account workers = 10%, Routine occupations = 4%, Lower supervisory and technical occupations = 6%

*Note: the classified students are up to 21 years old studying at the first degree level

Sources 

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited. 

Graduate outcomes

Key findings

  • 85% of graduates from a pre-registration SLT programme are employed as a Speech and Language Therapist after 15 months.

Notes

  • Includes graduates within the eligible Graduate Outcomes population who replied to the Graduate Outcomes survey with a complete or partial response.
  • The Graduate Outcomes survey collects information about the activities and perspectives of graduates approximately 15 months after they complete their HE studies.

Pie chart - Graduate outcomes of 2019/20 cohort. Speech and language therapists = 85%, Unknown/not applicable = 11%, Other employment = 2%, Other highly skilled employment = 2%

Sources

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited.

Reasons why students leave SLT programmes

Key findings

  • 70 students left an SLT programme in 2021/22 which accounts for 2% of all SLT students.
  • Amongst students who left the program the most prevalent reasons were academic failure, health reasons and other personal reasons. Altogether they accounted for 66% of reasons why students dropped out of an SLT programme.

Note: The numbers of people leaving across years are not high enough to enable statistically robust conclusions about trends.

Percentage Pie chart -Reasons why SLT students left a programme 2021/22. Written off after a lapse of time = 2%, Academic failure/left in bad standing/not permitted to progress = 33%, Completion of course- result unknown = 10%, Health reasons = 13%, Death = 2%, Other personal reasons and dropped out = 20%, Gone into employment = 3%, Financial reasons = 3%, Other = 13%

Sources 

Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2023. Neither the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited nor HESA Services Limited can accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from data or other information supplied by the Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited or HESA Services Limited. 

Further reading