Knowledge Change Action

We all need each other

KCA is here to enable people to make life better for others, using evidence from research to improve everyday interactions, everywhere.

Our training and consultancy shares transformative knowledge.

We encourage deep reflective practice, and empower individuals and organisations to make a difference.

We are an employee owned trust.

As an employee-owned organisation KCA aspires to be a beacon to those who want to lead sustainable organisations, rooted in their local communities, where employees are active decision makers shaping their future together.

KCA is a dynamic and ambitious social enterprise comprised of compassionate people who care about making the world a better place for everyone. We provide consultancy, training and learning journeys that enable partner organisations to develop their practice in trauma, attachment and community resilience in order to help people to change or strengthen their relationships with individuals and the communities they serve. We draw on the expertise represented in our core approaches of ‘Five to Thrive’, ‘Mending Hurts’, ‘Holding Together’ and ‘Creating Connections’, whilst including the latest developments from neuroscience.

Five to Thrive is a way of understanding how connected relationships are fundamental to human wellbeing, helping to build resilient communities, and how we can promote these attachment bonds

Mending Hurts promotes recovery from trauma by enabling people to notice what they, or other people, do in their most effective interactions with people when they are more vulnerable or traumatized. When we notice ourselves doing something well, we become more conscious of our activity and more competent in it..

Creating Connections between human beings lies at the heart of individual and community resilience, and, indeed, at the heart of KCA’s work. Our resilience mapping tools open up conversations about the network around people when they are feeling more vulnerable.

This can offer insights that guide intervention and support.

Holding Together offers a systemic intervention to build resilience in the team around a child when they are more vulnerable or traumatised



Clapton Girls Academy share the impact of KCA training on their secondary school community

Brackenfield SEND School, Nottingham

Barnardo's Scotland share their experience of Five To Thrive

West Sussex and Five To Thrive

This course gives me a useful understanding of attachment, which is useful for working with my foster children, who have attachment disorders.

KCA Course Participant
4 December 2018

This was such a nicely paced course bringing together attachment matters and the impact on education of those vulnerabilities that affect our children. It is particularly helpful that we can access materials to take away too, many thanks.

Sue Connell , Wandsworth Council
22 January 2018

I am now able to value the importance of all who are involved in the planning of contacts, and will utilise supervision more so that it includes discussions around contact, impact of contact on myself as well as the child.

KCA Course Participant
19 August 2016

I felt that the course content and presentation were a perfect balance of theory, exercises and ideas to put learning into practice.

Jackie Heath
25 July 2016

The course was taught very well with a wide variety of activities and information that made complex subject matters digestible.

Connor Bell
3 September 2016

Really enjoyed the training. Christina Enright was very knowledgeable and had very good teaching skills.

KCA Course Participant
23 February 2018

Very inspiring speakers! Really enjoyed it. This will help me a great deal in my work with families .

Lynn Teasdale , Barnardo's
27 February 2018

Very good training opportunity for anyone working in education.

KCA Course Participant
20 September 2017

This is one of the best training sessions I have been to. Took a lot away from it. I also love the section where you used your hand to describe the brain never heard of this analogy before but its helped cement the knowledge into my own brain. Thank you

Fleur Harrison
2 December 2020

Attachment directly affects behaviour and this is where there are a lot of issues for families at the minute. Through providing them with this knowledge they can understand why their children behave the way they do. Awareness of attachment theory from birth can help to improve parent child relationships from the start which will have positive impacts throughout their life. Parents can make more informed choices about what activities they allow their children to engage in when they know how certain things such as computers impact on brain development. Knowledge is power and we can give this to families.

Lauren Gray , Barnardo's
14 October 2016

I now feel confident to provide some understanding to parents of the impact of difficult life experiences on their children's brain development and function, and thereby help them to understand aspects of their children's behaviour and teach strategies to assist them.

KCA Course Participant
11 October 2016

I was inspired to return and convince my headteacher of the need for the whole school training on Attachment Awareness Schools.

Attiya Khawaja
22 November 2017

Brilliant. I could relate the content to children I have fostered. When I asked Renee to expand on the activities she had spoken about she gave me practical ideas for working to help my children. So appreciated, Thank you Renee.

Marita Beardow
10 July 2016

My first webinar, and a very positive experience.

Becky Fage
13 May 2020

The reflection time in small groups was great. Sally was a really great facilitator -thank you

Emma Merry , Essex Chold and Family Wellbeing Service
9 February 2021

A wonderful opportunity to work flexibly with the highly skilled trainer. As a school leader I particularly welcomed the way in which Lisa enabled us to work together as a staff team and was mindful of the school agenda for change and inclusion. This couldnt have been better timed or delivered. Thank you Lisa!

Lesley Dolben
10 September 2016

The trainer was fantastic - very knowledgeable and personable.

Alisha Scott , Lewisham Borough Council
31 October 2017

Just fabulous - have heard Kate talk previously and felt just as inspired and even more informed. Thank you.

KCA Course Participant
12 October 2016

This was a brilliantly taught and highly informative course, with strategies that I can use across the next year.

KCA Course Participant
24 April 2020

Kate Cairns was amazing and I am so pleased that I have attended.

KCA Course Participant
10 August 2018

I am looking at how we can include five to thrive messages in our new group programme - Who am I?- aimed at adult probation service users

Guy Wiseman , Ormiston Families
27 October 2017

I enjoyed the training, it was very useful and helped to inform my understanding of the issues children will face on returning to school.

KCA Course Participant
6 May 2020

The trainer was excellent and very inspiring

Roisin O'Neill , Barnardo's
27 June 2016

I loved this course, one of the best I've been on. It made so much sense & has changed the way I think about situations not only in school but in other aspects of my life. I felt inspired.

KCA Course Participant
25 July 2016

I think this trainer was incredibly knowledgeable, inspiring and motivating...I can't identify any ways that she could've delivered this content any better!

Chris Hussey
5 March 2021

People we've worked with