What are the opening hours?

Monday 8:30am - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm

KCA Training - Knowledge Change Action

Name: KCA Training - Knowledge Change Action
Address: Dursley, GL114HR, GB
Telephone: 01453 488400
Price range: Not applicable

Home
United Kingdom
Dursley
KCA Training - Knowledge Change Action

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Working with you to create more good days.

KCA (previously known as Kate Cairns Associates) was established in 2011 to bring together the work of Kate Cairns and a group of experienced practitioners and trainers across the UK. Our small, experienced team, managed from our Head Office in Gloucestershire, has an excellent track record in running effective training programmes, rooted in the science-based theory of attachment, trauma and resilience, that are responsive to the changing needs and priorities of our Commissioners. At KCA, relationships are key to everything we do – whether that is the relationships between our colleagues that ensure that we feel supported, enthused and committed to our work, the relationships with our commissioners that allow us to understand and respond effectively to their needs, or supporting practitioners, through our training and consultancy, to develop effective connected relationships with the children, families and teams with whom they work.

02/11/2026

When we understand people differently, we can respond differently.

Our training helps teams understand the impact of attachment and trauma, and how everyday relationships can build safety, belonging and mattering - across all ages and stages of life.

Here’s a little of what that looks like, with feedback from people who have trained with us.

Explore how we could support your team: www.kca.training

30/10/2026

How does learning lead to lasting change?

At KCA, we help people make sense of relational science and use it in everyday life.

Our Theory of Change sets out how we believe this happens: recognising ourselves in the learning, seeing people differently, and feeling equipped to act. Shared understanding and organisational support help those changes become part of everyday practice.

Swipe through to explore how this can create stronger conditions for people to feel safe, connected and able to thrive.

What could this look like in your organisation? We’d love to talk.

✉️ [email protected]

28/10/2026

Our brains are built for connection.

When we feel unsafe, overwhelmed or disconnected, our brains naturally shift into survival mode. Learning, thinking, problem-solving and relationships can all become harder.

The good news is that our brains remain capable of change throughout life. Through connection, co-regulation and experiences that help us feel safe, belong and matter, we can strengthen the neural pathways that support resilience, wellbeing and recovery.

At KCA, our work is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: when people experience safety, belonging and mattering, more good days become possible.

26/10/2026

Trauma or Neurodivergence? Or both?

Too often, children and young people are viewed through a lens of behaviour, labels or diagnosis alone.

But what if what we're seeing is an adaptation to stress, adversity, sensory overwhelm, unmet need, or a combination of factors?

The reality is that trauma and neurodivergence can sometimes look similar from the outside. Both can influence regulation, communication, relationships, attention and behaviour. Yet behind those behaviours is a child trying to navigate their world as best they can.

A relational, trauma-informed approach doesn't ignore diagnosis. It simply starts somewhere different:

💙 What's happening for this child?
💙 What do they need to feel safe?
💙 How can we respond with curiosity, compassion and connection?

When we shift from "What's wrong?" to "What might this behaviour be communicating?", we create environments where all children and young people can thrive.

24/10/2026

A couple of weeks ago, we were back in Wiltshire delivering the second round of our Emotional Me programme, supporting primary and secondary school staff to strengthen emotional wellbeing and resilience across their school communities.

Emotional Me helps children develop emotional literacy, self-awareness, self-regulation and healthy relationships through practical, evidence-informed resources that can be embedded into everyday school life.

We're delighted that the independent evaluation of the pilot programme found:

✅ 97% of participants would recommend Emotional Me to colleagues

✅ 100% reported increased knowledge and understanding of emotional wellbeing

✅ 100% felt more confident supporting children's emotional wellbeing following the training

✅ 97% reported that the programme had already influenced their practice

Participants highlighted the programme's practical resources, ease of implementation and positive impact on both staff confidence and pupil wellbeing.

A huge thank you to everyone involved across Wiltshire. It has been fantastic to see schools embracing a proactive, relational approach to supporting children to understand and manage their emotions.

📖 Read the full evaluation report here:https://www.kca.training/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Emotional-Me-pilot-IPC-evaluation-full-report.pdf

22/10/2026

Early years services play a vital role in shaping brain development during infancy and early childhood.

They are also often the first places where vulnerability is noticed, making them crucial in reducing the long-term impact of trauma.

For this to work well, children and families need consistent, relational care across communities.

But when early years services are underfunded, staff are exhausted, and teams feel isolated, it becomes much harder to offer the support that vulnerable children and families need.

During our work in Cornwall, early years providers told us that geography was one of their biggest challenges.

Services were spread across the county, often working in isolation and with limited opportunities to share learning, align practice or build a shared understanding of what ‘good support’ looks like.

Since 2013, KCA has worked alongside Cornwall’s early years services to embed the Five to Thrive model across the county.

Together, we co-created a strategy that responded directly to the challenges practitioners were facing.

Our work focused on:

🔹 Understanding core human needs and early brain development

🔹 Developing confidence and skill in relational practice

🔹 Strengthening approaches that promote secure attachment across the early years

By 2024, an in-depth case study showed that:

🔹 Practitioners and leaders continued to use Five to Thrive daily in their practice

🔹The framework had significantly supported staff resilience

🔹Cornwall’s ‘Reflect’ programme, built using Five to Thrive, helped many highly vulnerable children remain in their early years settings and go on to flourish

By embedding a shared, relational framework, Five to Thrive helped create consistency across Cornwall’s early years services, despite significant geographical challenges.

When practitioners are supported to reflect and resourced to sustain good practice, the quality of relationships improves - and it is through those relationships that children, families and communities thrive.

To find out more about Five to Thrive, and how we can help embed it in your setting, visit our website at https://lnkd.in/e8yvBMBZ or get in touch to book a no obligation discovery call with a member of the team: https://lnkd.in/ed_3Ydi3

16/10/2026

At the heart of wellbeing is connection - when we feel safe with others, we can truly thrive. 🧡

To find out more about what we can do to help promote safety, belonging and connection in your service or setting: https://www.kca.training/what-we-do

14/10/2026

We often get asked… what is Five to Thrive, and where does it fit?

The answer is - it doesn’t sit in one place.

It’s being used in early years, schools, virtual schools, social care, family hubs and public health… because at its core, it’s about something we all need to get right:

how we connect, respond and support regulation.

What we hear time and time again is that it gives people a shared language - something simple, consistent and rooted in understanding, that helps teams feel more confident in how they respond, especially when things feel complex.

It’s not about adding something new.
It’s about strengthening what’s already there.

Since 2011, organisations have continued to embed Five to Thrive because it works with people - not around them - and creates a consistency that children, families and professionals can rely on.

Interested in learning more? Wed love to hear from you https://lnkd.in/ed_3Ydi3

12/10/2026

Five to Thrive in youth justice 💛

Catherine Gordon was recently in Leicestershire delivering our course Five to Thrive – Youth Justice: Young people, trauma and the criminal justice system for Leicestershire County Council.

The day explored how attachment, brain development and trauma can help us understand young people’s behaviour, and how Five to Thrive can support practical, relational responses.

Building connectedness and preventing harm starts with everyday interactions: helping young people feel safe, strengthening relationships and supporting regulation.

Thank you to Catherine and everyone who joined us for the day.

06/10/2026

Lovely to see our Emotional Me programme featured in Children & Young People Now! 🧠

Moving to secondary school brings new friendships, unfamiliar routines and plenty of emotions. Helping children understand what’s happening in their brains and bodies gives them a way to make sense of those feelings and talk about them.

Developed by us at KCA, Emotional Me equips teachers with the knowledge and practical resources to explore emotions, wellbeing and resilience with their pupils, including how connecting with others and spending time in nature can help.

Thank you to the schools, teachers and partners helping bring this learning into children’s everyday lives.

Read the article here 👇
https://www.cypnow.co.uk/content/best-practice/exploring-brain-science-helps-students-navigate-move-to-secondary-school

If you’d like to explore Emotional Me for your school or local area, we’d love to hear from you.

Address

Dursley
GL114HR

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

01453 488400

Website

http://www.kca.training/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when KCA Training - Knowledge Change Action posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.