Persona: Ola

Approach

Ola is an advanced speech and language therapist working in a school for young people with special educational needs in Northern Ireland. He works across the four pillars of practice in a way that is relevant to his role, using the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)’s Professional Development Framework to help him identify CPD activities related to professional practice, facilitation of learning, leadership and management and evidence, research and innovation. 

Every month in supervision, Ola discusses how to align his CPD activities to meet service user needs with his line manager. Together, they consider the needs of service users and the ways in which his scope of practice continues to evolve to meet the complex needs of the people he serves. They plan his CPD activities around these factors.  

Ola maintains an up-to-date narrative of his scope of practice, aligned with the four pillars of practice. In his quarterly peer supervision sessions, Ola and his colleagues also spend time reflecting on their broader career growth to consider future opportunities. 

When he has questions about his profession's scope of practice, he reaches out to the Advisory Team at his professional body, the RCSLT. 

Ola also works with a team of experienced speech and language therapy assistants and teaching assistants, some of whom he supervises. They undertake delegated activities and know how to access support when they need to. Ola understands that he does not need to be the same profession as those he supervises, but he also knows when to seek additional advice if an issue is beyond the limits of his knowledge and skills.