Kate Dainton, Higher Level Teaching Assistant & Pastoral Lead
Wednesday 01 July 2026
Kate’s career journey at Five Rivers began in June 2022. Her passion for working for an organisation that puts children first brought her to Five Rivers, and her desire for a direct role working with children led her to take a new path.
Tell us about your career path in the Five Rivers.
I started at Five Rivers in a Communications Lead role on maternity cover at the Head Office in Salisbury and joined an incredible team of women who look after the whole organisation’s marketing and communications.
The team gave me a solid, supportive handover into the role, and right from the start, I was given the reigns to bring a new perspective and try new things, whilst working closely with other team members to deliver exciting new projects.
When my colleague returned from maternity leave, the team offered me a full-time position, and the Marketing and Communications Team grew as some brilliant new faces joined.
Did you get to work with other teams in this role?
Yes, I did. In this role, I worked with the Fostering team, where I met Foster Carers and ran fantastic campaigns to showcase what fostering with Five Rivers is really like. I also worked with the Clinical Services to host Research and Development conferences for hundreds of employees and professionals nationwide, and with the Education team to support the amazing videos showcasing their unique settings across the country, as well as many other interesting projects in between.
What have you enjoyed most about working for Five Rivers?
One of my favourite parts of the job was working with the young people, and I loved travelling to the Youth Councils, bringing the children’s voices into our campaigns, and supporting the Residential and Education Teams.
This work made me reflect on my previous work with young people and reignited my interest in continuing to do so.
How did you make the move from Marketing and Communications to Education?
I have always had a drive to work directly with children, and I discussed this with my manager, who supported me in thinking about how I wanted to shape my career to fit these goals.
I booked a meeting with the Head of Education, who gave me such personal support and time, so I decided to make a complete career change by taking a new role at the Spires School.
Five Rivers supported me during this time, helping me carve out a position where I felt secure and appreciated for the work I had done and championing my career change.
Can you tell us about your new role and the training involved?
I have loved every minute of working in a new setting as a Teaching Assistant at the Spires School, where I work with such a variety of interesting young people and great staff.
Over the first year, I completed additional training, progressed to Higher Level Teaching Assistant, and took on the role of Pastoral Lead for middle school students in September.
I have just completed my Thrive Practitioner training and will enter the next school year ready to deliver more specialised support to our students while taking on additional responsibilities to further my career in therapeutic education.
Can you describe the Thrive model and how it shapes both student support and your career direction?
The Thrive model focuses on children’s developmental stages and helps identify where unmet needs may have occurred, particularly for those who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences. It looks at development from early stages through to independence, using therapeutic approaches to support and rebuild those gaps.
In school, this is delivered through targeted interventions in a Thrive room, with regular assessments to monitor progress and adapt support as needed. It also helps determine whether additional input is needed, such as educational psychology or wider therapeutic support at home. Overall, it brings together a joined-up approach to emotional wellbeing.
Personally, this training has strengthened my interest in the pastoral and therapeutic side of education. I’m now planning to continue in this direction, potentially alongside a master’s in educational psychology to further develop my skills.
Interested in working with Five Rivers?
If you want to join our Social Enterprise, take a look at our current vacancies to find a role turning children’s lives around.