Day in the life of a Speech and Language Therapy Apprentice

Have you ever considered a Degree Apprenticeship or wondered what it’s like to get your degree and practical experience at the same time? I’m Rachel, a 1st year Speech and Language apprentice and I’m going to share a typical day in the life with you as an apprentice working in the NHS.

Being an apprentice means that each day is different as I balance university learning and work. I have one day a week at university and one day of study leave which I can use to study at home. Currently, I go to university on a Monday and study from home on a Tuesday. The rest of my week working at the local health centre looks like this:

6.30 am: I like to wake up early enough to give myself time to get ready and have breakfast. I usually have toast, boiled eggs and a cup of tea for breakfast, it’s a classic and it keeps me full.

8.00am: I set off for work and travel by car. I work for the NHS and I’m based at a local health centre. I’ll be based here for the duration of my apprenticeship but sometimes I travel to other health centres for team meetings or to primary schools or patient’s homes to deliver therapy.

Of course, I have Spotify on for the journey! I always listen to music in the morning and have a little sing-along to get myself in gear for the day.

8.30am: Once I arrive at work, I go to the main office to say hello to my colleagues who are also in and collect the keys to the clinic room that I am based in for today. I then spend some time checking my schedule for the day, replying to any emails and reading through the notes of the children who I will be seeing in clinic to help me prepare for their therapy sessions. After that, I set up the clinic room with appropriate toys and activities.

9.30 am – 12.30 pm: I go out to the waiting room to collect the child/ family for the first appointment of the day. I greet the family and we head to the clinic room.

Currently, I deliver Parent-Child Interaction and Intensive Interaction therapy sessions. During these sessions, I provide suggestions and demonstrate to parents the ways in which they can communicate with their child which will encourage the child’s communication development. These sessions can be really fun because a lot of it is about modelling communication through play! It’s lovely to see parents playing and connecting with their children.

I usually see 2 children in the morning and then type up the clinical notes.

12.30 pm: Lunchtime!! I grab my lunch, sit with my colleagues and have a catch up. This is a nice time to relax and see how everyone is getting on. This is also a good opportunity to ask qualified therapists any clinical questions I may have and learn from other therapist’s experiences.

1.00 pm – 4.30 pm: During the afternoon, I usually see another 2 children in the clinic and then type up the clinical notes. If I have some spare time, I will catch up on any other admin tasks such as writing end-of-therapy reports, preparing resources such as Aided Language Displays or completing online mandatory training.

On days when I am not based in clinic, I could be delivering packages of care in nurseries or primary schools to help educate staff on communication strategies or attending home visits to provide therapy sessions in the child’s home.

I also enjoy shadowing other therapists as it gives me exposure to assessments and how diagnoses are made. Being an apprentice means I am surrounded by qualified professionals who can help me develop my skills and knowledge, to me that’s probably one of the best parts of being an apprentice.

4.30 pm – 10.00 pm: Home time! I usually get back home at 5 pm. My job is very rewarding, however, it can sometimes be tiring communicating with other people all day so I try to unwind during the evening by just taking some time to myself to eat dinner, watch TV and catch up with my family. Then it’s time to read and go to sleep, ready for the next day.

And that’s it! So far, I’m really enjoying my apprenticeship. For me, learning on the job is the best way to learn. It's great to see how the theory that I learn at university is applied in real life situations in the workplace and with real patients.

My hope is that gaining lots of experience will make the transition into the role of a qualified Speech and Language Therapist more seamless and will make me a confident and competent newly qualified therapist!