Week one
- Confirm your HCPC registration is current
- Sort your professional indemnity insurance
- Apply for an enhanced DBS check through an umbrella body
- Buy your domain name
Before you start
Registration and insurance
"Speech and Language Therapist" is a protected title regulated by the HCPC. You must be registered to use it and to practise, in private work exactly as anywhere else.
HCPC registration
Your existing registration continues into private practice with no additional steps. Keep your renewal dates noted and make sure your CPD reflects the client groups you are actually working with privately, which may not be the same ones you saw before.
Professional indemnity insurance
You will need your own policy. An employer's cover does not extend to private clients. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists offers member insurance, and specialist health insurers such as Balens, HCAS and Towergate are widely used by private SaLTs. Check the policy covers report writing if you do it.
DBS check
If you work with children or vulnerable adults, which covers most private SaLT work, you will need an enhanced DBS check. As a self-employed practitioner you apply through a registered umbrella body. RCSLT can advise on the process.
Choosing your client group
Most SaLTs go private in a specific area: paediatric speech and language delay, stammering, voice disorders, aphasia after stroke, dysphagia, or autism and AAC. Deciding early makes everything downstream easier, because your website, your directory profile and your referral conversations all get simpler when you can say precisely who you help.
On waiting lists: in many parts of the UK, children's NHS speech and language waiting lists run well over a year. That is the single biggest driver of private demand, and it shapes exactly who is searching for you: parents who cannot wait, or whose child was discharged with needs still outstanding. Write for that person.
Getting set up online
Your website and online profile
Most private SaLT referrals come from two places: parents searching online, and other professionals such as GPs, paediatricians and SENCOs. Your online presence has to work for both.
Your website
Be specific about who you work with. "Private speech therapist" is hard to rank for and tells a parent nothing about whether you are right for their child. A line like "I work with children aged eighteen months to eight years with speech sound disorders and language delays" answers the question immediately, and it happens to be much easier to rank.
Include how sessions work, whether that is home visits, a clinic or online, the areas you cover, your fees, and how to enquire. A plain FAQ page covering the questions you get asked most saves you time and tends to rank well.
Google Business Profile
Set one up even if you are mobile or home-visiting, using a service area rather than a personal address. Choose the most accurate category and complete every section. A complete profile with a few reviews will noticeably improve how often you appear in local searches.
Professional directories
The RCSLT find-a-therapist directory is the main professional listing. Local SEND directories maintained by councils are worth being on if you work with children, and Therapy Directory also lists SaLTs and picks up parents who found it through Google.
Being found
Local SEO for speech and language therapists
Parents searching for private speech therapy tend to search very specifically. They already know what they are looking for, which makes ranking for those exact searches the most direct route to enquiries you will find.
The searches that matter
- "Private speech therapist" with your area, or "speech and language therapist near me"
- "Private speech therapy for children" with your area
- "Speech delay therapist" with your area
- "Stammering therapy" with your area
- Adult terms such as dysphagia or aphasia therapy, if that is your work
How to improve your visibility
- Put your specialism and location in your page titles and headings
- Give each area you specialise in its own page, because each one can rank separately
- Answer the questions parents actually ask, like what an assessment involves and how long therapy usually takes
- Collect Google reviews from professional referrers and from families, within your professional boundaries
- Make your HCPC registration number visible, since it builds trust and supports Google's quality signals for health content
Location pages: if you travel to clients across several towns, a separate page for each area will rank independently and widen your reach considerably. It is one of the highest-return things a mobile practitioner can do.
A simple plan
Your first 30 days
The compliance steps in week one need to be done before you take clients. Everything after that can move at a sensible pace.
Week two
- Get your website live with a clear page per client group
- Set up and verify your Google Business Profile with a service area
- List on the RCSLT directory and relevant SEND directories
- Set up an enquiry process, since parents usually have questions before booking
Week three
- Introduce yourself to local SENCOs, paediatricians and health visitors
- Write one explainer about your most common assessment
- Ask professional contacts for a Google review
- Post your first update on your Google Business Profile
Week four
- Check where you rank for your main searches
- Look at your site on a phone. Is enquiring simple and reassuring for an anxious parent?
- Plan a quarter of content, one piece a month is plenty
- Decide whether location pages would widen your reach
Honest answers
Common questions about going private as a SaLT
Can I offer online speech therapy sessions?
Yes, and many private SaLTs do, particularly with older children and adults. It is not right for every client group, since very young children often need in-person interaction, but it widens your reach and cuts overheads. Make clear on your website and profile which groups you see online and which in person.
How do I handle EHCP reports privately?
Many parents commission a private assessment specifically to support an EHCP application or review. Be precise about what your assessment covers, use appropriate professional language, and make sure you know what your local authority expects from a SaLT report. RCSLT publishes guidance on this and it is worth reading before you take the first one.
What should I charge?
Rates vary considerably by location and by specialism, and report writing is usually charged separately from sessions. Rather than work from a number you found online, look at what comparable private SaLTs in your area actually charge. Undercharging significantly creates sustainability problems later and can undermine confidence in the service.
Where do most private referrals come from?
For paediatric work: parents searching Google, word of mouth from SENCOs and SEN departments, referrals from paediatricians, and health visitors. For adult work: GPs and hospital discharge teams. The RCSLT directory helps across both.
Do I need to specialise straight away?
Not permanently, but choosing a focus for your first year makes everything easier. It sharpens your website, gives referrers something specific to remember you for, and means your marketing speaks to one person rather than everyone.