Speech pathology in education

"Education is a basic human right that should be realised by all children" (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNICEF], 1989).

Speech pathologists have an important role to play in education settings.

They are essential members of the multidisciplinary education teams promoting effective speech, language and communication skills for all children, and supporting and advocating for children who have difficulty with communication and swallowing.

Speech pathologists also advocate for access to quality education for all children and early identification and intervention for children with education support requirements. 

Speech Pathology in Education learning program

Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) is proud to launch the new Speech Pathology in Education learning program. The curated suite of Learning Hub modules support speech pathologists in enhancing their professional journey in education. 

The learning program is designed to deepen speech pathologists' engagement in the Speech Pathology in Education Practice Guideline (2022) and support implementation of the practices described. As research tells us, a practice guideline, while helpful, isn’t necessarily on its own enough to support practice change and improvement.

 As such, the online module series that has been developed aims to unpack the guideline and support clinicians to engage with the content.

The learning program consists of three modules, (including a number of smaller units) that explore the ‘big ideas’ in education, a deep dive into the problem solving process to data driven decision making, and a guided approach to leading speech pathology services in education.

 The modules and units are designed to be worked through in a sequential order, however, we recognise that the needs of individuals may differ based on previous knowledge and experience.  Each unit is designed with opportunities to enhance reflective practice and provides setting specific worked examples and practice challenges.  

Access the learning modules via the Learning Hub.
 

Practice documents

The Speech Pathology in Education Position Statement and Practice Guideline have been updated to reflect contemporary speech pathology practice in education and current best practice principles, and broaden the scope of the documents to include speech pathology in early childhood education settings.

 

Speech Pathology in Education Position Statement

This Position Statement is to support understanding of the role of speech pathologists in the education system.

This Statement affirms that speech pathologists have an important role to play in education settings to promote effective speech, language and communication skills for all children, and to support and advocate for children who have difficulty with communication and swallowing.

Speech Pathology in Education Practice Guideline (Member access)

This Practice Guideline (member access only) identifies a range of professional practices and guiding principles that inform the provision of best practice speech pathology services in education to improve outcomes for children.

This document is intended for use by speech pathologists in Australia to support relevant standards of practice to be met at an individual and organisational level.

 

Speech Pathology in Education overview

The Speech Pathology in Education Practice Guideline overview is a self-paced learning program is designed to enhance engagement with the revised Practice Guideline. The program serves as a ‘guided reading’ resource and incorporates a read and reflect approach.


It is designed to assist speech pathologists to become familiar with the contents of the Practice Guideline and support the adoption of practice that will enhance speech pathology practices in education.