UK Enterprise Awards 2026 / 90 Best Foster Care Training Provider 2026 - South East England & Community Impact Excellence Award 2026 LifetrainUK has been supporting foster carers, adoptive parents, children’s homes, schools, professionals and vulnerable young people for over 25 years. We find out more from Dr Natasha J Emin CFACCPH as the firm gains recognition in the UK Enterprise Awards 2026. Founded and led by Dr Natasha Emin, LifetrainUK brings together professional expertise, lived experience and a deep commitment to children and families. Natasha is an adoptive parent, professional youth worker, experienced trainer, therapist and coach. She has worked extensively with a wide range of organisations across children’s services, foster care, adoption, residential care, education and youth support, bringing a wealth of therapeutic, coaching and training experience to her work. Over the last 25 years, she has supported foster carers, adoptive parents, residential staff and professionals to better understand trauma, attachment, behaviour, emotional regulation and the real-life challenges faced by children who have experienced adversity. “Our aim is simple: to help the adults around vulnerable children feel more confident, more informed and more able to respond with understanding,” Natasha tells us. “At the heart of the work is one clear belief: children who have experienced trauma need adults who can stay steady, curious and connected - even when things are difficult.” Natasha works alongside her wife, Lisa Emin CFACCPH, who brings over 21 years’ experience as a foster carer. Lisa also provides therapeutic support to children and young people, bringing warmth, insight and a grounded understanding of what it really means to care for children through crisis, uncertainty and change. Together, Natasha and Lisa offer something that is both professional and deeply personal. Their work is not based on theory alone - it is shaped by lived experience. Working with foster carers, adoptive parents, residential staff, schools, professionals and organisations who are often supporting children through trauma, loss, rejection, fear, neurodivergence, self-harm, emotional distress and challenging behaviour, LifetrainUK is known for delivering dynamic, practical and honest training. “We do not believe in tick-box learning,” explains Natasha. “We believe training should change what happens in real homes, real placements, real classrooms and real moments of crisis.” Along with core values of honesty, compassion, inclusion and practical change, Natasha and Lisa also bring real-life experience to their work. This means the training is relatable, emotionally intelligent and immediately usable. They help adults understand what sits underneath behaviour, while also giving them clear strategies, scripts and tools they can use straight away. The dynamic duo are co-authors of the Oxygen First book series - five practical books designed to support adults caring for children who are dealing with challenging issues. On top of this, they are also developing the ATTUNE Parenting App, a specialist therapeutic parenting platform for foster carers, adoptive parents, kinship carers, residential staff and professionals, which brings together training, practical resources, therapeutic parenting strategies and ongoing support in one accessible place. At LifetrainUK, the pair stay ahead of the curve by staying close to the work. Crucially, both women still carry a direct caseload of work with children and families, meaning they are continually learning from practice, listening to what carers and professionals are facing, and adapting their training to meet real needs - not outdated theory. “The sector changes. Children’s needs change. The pressures on carers change. So, our training has to change,” adds Natasha. “When obstacles come up, we do not avoid them or pretend they are not there. We look at them directly, adapt and find a way forward.” One of the biggest trends LifetrainUK is seeing across foster care, adoption and children’s services is that the work is becoming harder, with many people supporting children with increasingly complex needs, including trauma, loss, neglect, disrupted attachments, domestic abuse, neurodivergence, emotional dysregulation, self-harm, school refusal and significant anxiety. This means carers are not just offering a safe home - they are often holding children through deep emotional pain, risk and crisis. The Fostering Network has also highlighted the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis, with more foster carers leaving than joining across the UK. “This confirms what we see every day in practice: foster carers are being asked to manage more complex situations, with less support around them,” comments Natasha. “Good foster carers are hard to recruit, and even harder to keep. The issue is not just getting people through the door - it is helping them feel valued, equipped and emotionally supported enough to stay.” Following recognition for its stellar commitment to the industry in the UK Enterprise Awards 2026, LifetrainUK now has big plans for the future, with the most exciting current project being the launch of the ATTUNE Parenting App in September, and an aim to roll it out across the UK to fostering agencies, adoption networks, children’s homes, local authorities and organisations supporting children and families. Alongside this, LifetrainUK will also continue developing its Oxygen First book series and specialist training programmes, making sure everything produced is practical, clear and rooted in real-life experience. “Foster carers, adoptive parents and professionals are doing some of the hardest and most important work there is,” Natasha enthuses. “They deserve support that is not hidden behind jargon, not locked away in a training folder, and not only available when everyone is already at breaking point.” Contact: Dr Natasha J Emin CFACCPH Company: LifetrainUK Web Address: www.ltuk.org LifetrainUK
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