In 1881 Clutterbuck joined the Community of the Sisters of the Church, a Church of England order founded in London in 1870 by Mother Emily Ayckbowm. Now referred to as "Sister Kate", Clutterbuck worked with orphans in the London slums for 17 years until 1901 when she and several other sisters were sent to Western Australia to establish a girls' school and orphanage. She arrived in Western Australia in December 1901 with Sister Sarah and 22 orphaned English children aged between 6 and 10 in her care.