Championing Lived Experience. Empowering Wellbeing. Accrediting Excellence
Lived Experience Accredited Facilitator and Speaker (LEAFS) Programme
Learn to share your story safely and powerfully while building confidence and facilitation skills. This accredited programme helps you speak with impact, create inclusive spaces, and gain confidence in personal, social, or professional settings. Whether you're an 'affected other' or had an impactful life experience, we will support you to shape your story.
Become a Delivery Partner
Become a delivery partner and offer the LEAFS programme through your organisation, joining a growing network across the UK. You'll receive full training, including a comprehensive Train the Trainer workshop with transferable skills for all your training needs, plus resources and ongoing support.
Deliver the programme flexibly to volunteers and staff or as a commercial offer.
Accredit Your Lived Experience Course
With lived experience at the heart of AAL, we’re committed to raising the standard of all training, including lived experience-led programmes. Our supportive accreditation process ensures your course meets quality benchmarks, giving confidence to participants, funders and other stakeholders.
Award participants with certificates, recognising contributions and achievements.
Programme Dates and Cost
Whether you are an 'affected other' or had an impactful life experience, our programme will give you confidence speaking in personal, social and business settings.
Winter - Thursday 6th and Friday 7th November 2025
£350 per delegate.
Please note - the programme is three days. The first two dates are advertised above, and the third date will be agreed with the cohort during the training.
If the dates above do not suit you, please drop us a line as we also hold a waiting list.
Lived Experience Accredited Facilitator & Speaker (LEAFS)
The Lived Experience Accredited Facilitator & Speaker programme empowers individuals to share their stories safely and effectively, build presentation skills, set healthy boundaries, and develop core facilitation techniques. Delivered by a skilled Lived Experience Trainer in small groups of four to eight participants, creating a safe, collaborative environment that encourages peer learning and networking. You'll have the opportunity to practise sharing your story, receive feedback from both peers and the Trainer, and facilitate peer presentations in a supportive environment.
The programme is structured around two key units that build the skills and confidence needed to speak and facilitate effectively using lived experience.
Unit 1: Lived Experience Speaking focuses on helping you shape your personal story to meet the needs of different audiences, while keeping your own voice and experience at the centre. You’ll explore how to share safely, with clear personal boundaries, and understand the importance of confidentiality agreements, for both yourself and your audience. Through practical exercises, you’ll build confidence in public speaking and learn how to communicate your story in a meaningful and impactful way.
Unit 2: Lived Experience Facilitation introduces the core responsibilities of a facilitator, including how to create safe, inclusive spaces and manage group dynamics. You’ll learn how to set clear boundaries, manage audience expectations, and signpost individuals to appropriate support and services.
Accreditation and Assessment
On successful completion, participants receive a Lived Experience Accredited Facilitator and Speaker certificate awarded from the Association for Accredited Learning.
To achieve accreditation, you will be observed delivering a short presentation on a topic of your choice during Workshop 3 of the programme. This peer and Trainer observation includes immediate verbal feedback, followed by written feedback for reflection.
You will also complete a reflective workbook, outlining how you plan to apply your new knowledge and skills. Please note: this is not a test of literacy, but an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding and practical application of the course content.
Claire Donegan, Lived Experience Trainer
Claire Donegan is a CBH Therapist and Recovery Coach from Ireland. Having spent nearly a decade of her life in the grips of gambling addiction, Claire now uses her lived experience to help others.
”When I first decided that I wanted to use my lived experience to help others, I enrolled in the AAL Lived Experience Accredited Facilitator and Speaker Programme to learn how I could best use my voice to create a dialogue and deliver my story effectively. The skills I learned through the course have helped me to establish my career as a Lived Experience Advocate, and now I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to share that knowledge as an AAL Trainer.”
Claire is licenced by the Association for Accredited Learning to deliver the Lived Experience Accredited Facilitator and Speaker Programme.
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