Meet The Team

Meet The EPIC SALT Team

Melanie Carte

BSc (Hons) Senior Speech and Language Therapist and Service Manager

Melanie qualified with a BSc (Hons) in Human Communication: Speech and Language Therapy from DeMontfort University in 2008 and is fully registered with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Between 2008 and 2015, Melanie worked in a specialist school setting for young people with a range of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs before transitioning to independent practice in which she worked with many local mainstream primary schools, nursery settings and individual service users within Leicestershire and the bordering counties. Melanie joined EPIC Speech and Language Therapy in March 2017 as Service Manager and specialises in:

Alex Hickinbottom

BSc (Hons) Speech and Language Therapist

Alex qualified with a BSc Hons degree in Speech & Language Sciences from Newcastle University in 2020. Her final year of study took a strong focus on collaboration between educational staff and Speech and Language Therapists, and this is something that Alex continues to be passionate about. In 2020-2021, Alex joined EPIC SALT as a Speech and Language Therapy assistant through which she gained invaluable experience of working as a frontline member of a school team and became a treasured asset of the service. This year sees Alex embarking on her journey as a newly qualified Speech and Language Therapist with the team and she will be working alongside the team at Enderby Danemill Primary School. Alex is our ‘go to’ for phonological awareness skills!  

Tereza Hunt

Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Tereza has worked in many educational settings during her career where she has gained countless years of experience working with children of all abilities and diverse backgrounds and before joining EPIC Speech and Language Therapy, she was a valued member of the team at Parkland Primary School. Tereza joined EPIC Speech and Language Therapy in August 2021 as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant because her interest has always been in speech and language; she firmly believes that having a good speech and language skill set will provide not only a firm foundation for other areas of learning but also promotes social skills, wellbeing and the ability to form relationships with others. She has described this move as her ‘dream job’ and she aims to deepen her knowledge and provide the highest level of support and encouragement to the children she will be working alongside. 

Hayley Grant-Smith

Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Whilst at university studying Journalism (BA Hons), Hayley worked part-time as a support worker for adults with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and when she graduated, took this on full time. After two years, she found herself transitioning into education and secured a role as a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) at an Ofsted-rated outstanding school. Hayley liaised closely with Speech and Language Therapists, teachers and families to provide interventions for children with a range of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). During this time, she realised her passion for providing interventions which promoted social interaction and communication. Hayley remained as an LSA for six years, gaining valuable experience of working with children of all abilities. Hayley joined EPIC Speech and Language Therapy in December 2021 and has already strengthened her knowledge to implement various interventions and secure excellent working relationship with the children and staff in her designated schools. 

Gemma Marriott

Undergraduate Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Gemma is an undergraduate sport psychology student at Loughborough University currently on placement with EPIC Speech and Language Therapy. Gemma first developed an interest in supporting children through work as a cricket coach. Within this role, she has had to work with a range of children, learning that every child’s needs are different. Joining EPIC as a Speech and Language therapy assistant, Gemma wishes to spread awareness of the importance of family involvement in child development and is particularly interested in supporting and understanding pupils on the ASD spectrum.

Amy Meaning

Undergraduate Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Amy is an undergraduate psychology student from Loughborough University, currently on placement with EPIC Speech and Language Therapy. Amy has experience working with children through her role as a Netball Coach and her time working at a multi-sports activity camp. This was where she discovered her interest in developing children’s skills and offering support and hopes to excel in these areas at EPIC. Amy looks forward to raising awareness and increasing understanding of speech, language and communication needs in the community.

*Please note, we currently have an open vacancy for an additional Speech and Language Therapist to join the team.