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Insight Academy

Community-led organisation harnessing the insight of lived experience.

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Insight Academy

Delivered by Expert Citizens & Stoke-on-Trent City Council as part of the Changing Futures Stoke-on-Trent programme, the INSIGHT Academy offers fully funded face-to-face and online for anyone living and working within the Stoke-on-Trent area and for a nominal charge for those outside the area.

Since its inception in August 2022 the INSIGHT Academy has delivered over 466 individual sessions to over 7443 attendees. 182 organisations have benefitted from these sessions include those from the local authority, police, health services, support services, housing providers, volunteers and community organisations.

All our training is co-designed and co-delivered through lived experience. We also offer people with lived experience the chance to become trainers themselves with our train the trainer programme.

Our Calendar

Check out our up coming training events

Psychologically-informed environments (PIE)

Simple changes can improve the way services feel to live in, to use and to work in.

Face-2-Face: 9.30am – 4pm.

24th June 2026
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Effective Factual Recording

This course was created in co-operation with people with lived experience from across North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. This includes clients and professionals.

Online: 9.30am – 4pm

29th June 2026
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Empathy Fatigue

This one-day training course, encourages learners to embrace a more rational approach to working with customers / service users.

Online: 9:30am – 4:00pm

2nd July 2026
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Inspiring Change Motivational Interviewing

It is an effective evidence-based approach to overcoming ambivalence (ambivalence keeps many people from making positive life.)

2 Days Online: 9:30am – 4:00pm 

8th – 9th July 2026
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Compulsive Hoarding

This course was co-designed and created with customers to give their view of compulsive hoarding and how they overcame their issues which led them to hoard.

Online: 9:30am – 4:30pm 

15th July 2026
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“We can do it better” – Trauma and Change

The aim of this session is to equip you with the skills to work compassionately with people who may have experienced traumatic life experiences and are now living with trauma.

Online: 9:30am – 4:00pm 

16th July 2026
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Lived Expertise

Expert Citizens has an extensive national network of contacts with cutting edge systems thinkers and leaders. Many of these bring their own lived experience which we supplement with testimony from local people using co-delivery and local case-based examples.

Our network includes expertise related to:

The implications of legislative change and the current policy landscape for those supporting customers and how to navigate systems; e.g. legal literacy, navigating benefits, and homelessness

Expertise on issues affecting people experiencing multiple needs in context and effective approaches to support; e.g. suicide, self[1]injury, hoarding, loneliness, drug and alcohol addiction, grief and loss

Understanding the root causes of multiple disadvantage to inform empathetic and effective practice; e.g. PIE, trauma informed care, and motivational interviewing

Professional development including wellbeing and resilience in order to maintain capacity; e.g. mental health first aid, building resilience, and emotional wellbeing

INSIGHT Academy

Our range of opportunities includes:

Accredited courses

Learning delivered over multiple sessions, the successful completion of which leads to the award of a qualifications (e.g. Level 3 Education and Training).

Non-accredited courses

Learning delivered over multiple sessions designed to meet a specific current training need of those supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantage (e.g. navigating the benefits system).

Masterclasses

Standalone learning sessions led by local and national experts on key subjects identified as current learning priorities through the Learning Programme’s planning and development process.

Bespoke workshops

 Expert Citizens CIC co-design and deliver a wide range of bespoke workshops to meet the specific learning requirements of organisations who work with customers experiencing multiple disadvantage.

Local Partnerships

Expert Citizens will work in partnership and alongside existing learning and development organisational teams and system across social care and health.

Communities of Practice

These multi-agency communities centre on case-based learning to aide reflective practice around a particular theme, such as hospital discharge for those with multiple disadvantage.

Arts based learning

Expert Citizens were central to the development of a performance arts-based learning opportunity in 2025 called Punishment Acts: Tales of Retribution, Reparation and Redemption.  The play was co-produced with Ride-Out and cast included a mix of professional actors and Expert Citizens members.

National Insight Awards

Shine a spotlight on someone who deserves it
Awards

Nominate now

Cele brate individuals, teams, or organisations that have made a to significant contribution promoting the value of lived experience.
Nominate