The four domains of practice are overall themes for the framework, allowing you to focus on different aspects of your SLT career as and when you want to.

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Each of the Professional Development Framework’s four domains of practice has several subthemes, with aligned detailed topics. You can use the subthemes and the detailed topics as part of your self-evaluation. The five core components have been woven through the four domains of practice, subthemes and detailed topics to embed them across all areas of learning and development.

The four domains and their subthemes are listed below.

Professional practice

  • Communication
  • Eating, drinking and swallowing
  • Safe, effective, high-quality practice
  • Ethical and values-based practice
  • Autonomy and accountability

Facilitation of learning

  • Supervision and coaching
  • Teaching and mentoring
  • Creating learning resources, environments and opportunities
  • Self-awareness and development
  • Lifelong formal and informal learning

Leadership and management

  • Effective teamwork
  • Promote the profession
  • Lead change
  • Self-management
  • Compassionate and inclusive leadership at all levels

Evidence, research and innovation

  • Evidence-based practice
  • Quality improvement and outcomes
  • Research engagement
  • Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship

The RCSLT Professional Development Framework supports all practitioners and managers to identify existing knowledge and skills and areas for future learning and development. It articulates the five core components (practitioner wellbeing, impact, inclusion and diversity, sustainability, co-production) and four domains of practice (professional practice; facilitation of learning; evidence, research and innovation; and leadership and management) for learning and professional development.