Category: News at SBT

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists has issued a statement of condolence about Sarah:

Sarah Buckley (1976-2024) 

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear colleague Sarah Buckley, Chair of the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice, who died earlier this week after a short illness.

Sarah was a true leader within the profession, driving the needs of independent therapists and the profession forward. She was immensely passionate about the world of speech and language therapy and her enthusiasm and drive helped to forge close relationships with the RCSLT, taking our joint working to new levels that will continue to be felt.

We will miss her enormously and our thoughts are with her family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

RCSLT Staff and Trustees

We are devastated to have to report that Sarah Buckley, the founder and practice manager of Sarah Buckley Therapies, passed away on Tuesday 17 September following a short illness. Her husband and SBT operations manager Rob Buckley wrote this tribute to her in conjunction with industry body ASLTIP, of which she was the chair.

The light has gone from my world. Yesterday afternoon, shortly after 4pm, my beautiful, wonderful, smart, funny, kind, caring, thoughtful beloved wife Sarah Buckley passed away aged 47 after a short illness.

Sarah was from Loughor, a small village outside Swansea, and fiercely Welsh and working class. The first member of her family ever to go to university, she was so proud when she qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from City, University of London, in 2000 and was able to put those magic letters after her name: BSc Hons, Reg: MRCSLT.

Sarah was amazing at her job right from the beginning. She started at Bromley NHS trust, before moving to Lambeth where she progressed to setting up the new Sure Start service, making Band 8 at an incredibly young age. In fact, her trust nominated her as a young achiever, allowing her to attend the Queen’s party at Buckingham Palace that summer.

By 2005, she was a clinical tutor at her alma mater, showing more than a decade’s worth of her students the practice of speech and language therapy, and caring for all of them and their futures equally. It’s a testament to her skills and her personality that so many of those students wanted to work for her after they graduated. Later on, she also guest lectured at Greenwich University.

Sarah was always looking to do more for both the profession and children, and had both the vision and an almost infinite capacity to do it. She started working in independent practice at the weekends, seeing clients individually, which meant joining ASLTIP was mandatory. Soon, she was working full-time as an independent practitioner and providing services to whole schools. But her goal was never to make money – always to give as many children as possible the best speech and language therapy input.

By 2010, she was so inundated with work that her mother suggested she found her own company and start employing people. That year, Sarah Buckley Therapies was born, with employee number 1: Hannah Southon (now Sullivan), who naturally, had been one of Sarah’s students. Many joined over the years, including both her mother and me, and this September, SBT welcomed its 60th employee – naturally, someone who had been inspired by Sarah to become a Speech and Language Therapist in the first place. Sarah would have hoped to have called every single one of them her friend and only wished the best for them, both during and after their careers at SBT. 

Sarah was always doing her upmost to further other people and the profession. In 2017, she set up the SBT Student Grants to help fund students during their studies. With the RCSLT, she created the guidelines for safe working during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She started studying for a Master of Business Administration qualification in 2017 and would have completed her final module in the course this summer were it not for the illness that tragically took her life just three months later.

And, of course, she joined the board of ASLTIP, first as a consultant in 2017, then as Vice Chair in 2020, and finally Chair in 2022. She had a vision for the Association and was phenomenal at her job, working for far more hours than she was supposed to and always mindful that she was responsible to the members and for the members. She had the ears of MPs and influencers alike, but was just as happy talking a member in trouble through their problems.

Sarah Helen Buckley née Barry dedicated her life to helping others, whether it was her family, friends, the people who worked for her (who she always hoped were her friends as well), her students, her profession and all the children she devoted herself to helping. She cared so much about every one of us.

The world is so much poorer now.

On behalf of the Executive Committee, we extend our deepest sympathies to Sarah’s family and loved ones. We will always remember her as an incredible leader, an exceptional Speech and Language Therapist, and most of all, a cherished friend. Losing Sarah leaves a profound void, not only within ASLTIP but in the hearts of all who had the privilege of knowing her.

We urge you all to take care of yourselves during this difficult time. We will be starting a forum thread following this tragic news to help you all feel connected and to offer a safe space for support. We hope this will also be a space for you all to share stories and happy memories as a celebration of Sarah’s life and remarkable contribution to our profession and ASLTIP.

ASLTIP will continue to honour her legacy in the work that we do. Our thoughts are with Sarah’s family during this time of immense loss.

With deepest sympathy,

The ASLTIP Executive Committee