Have your say - Help us make early childhood more inclusive for LGBTIQA++ families and their children

We are creating a resource to help early childhood services be more safe, welcoming and inclusive for LGBTIQA++ families and their children.

This survey asks a lot of different questions about your experience or desired experience as an adult who has visited an early childhood service with a child. We've asked that the first few questions are answered by everyone, but most of them are optional - please just respond to the ones you'd like to. Any and all information you offer is important, welcome and wanted. We anticipate the survey taking about 15 minutes to complete if you answer each question. 

A little about us - we are a Queer couple - Fiona and Rachel - who run early childhood consultancy Ethical Interactions. We work with governments, national bodies and services around Australia to make early childhood services better for children and their families. 

Your identity is kept confidential, and even if you give us permission to use your quotes, we will use a pseudonym to refer to you. All data will be kept confidential by us. 

Find out more by emailing fiona@ethicalinteractions.com or follow us on Instagram @ethical_interactions.com

Our beautiful graphic has been designed by Grace, age 10. Grace tells us she has used our Ethical Interactions logo and embellished it with the rainbow flag, trans folk, bi folk and their flag, rainbow families, 2 mum and 1 son families, 2 dad and 1 son families and folk who are gender non conforming or questioning their gender identity. It's all her own work (and we pay her for her time and have permission to use her IP) 
1.Are you an LGBTIQA++ adult who has visited an early childhood service with a child in your family? (It can be any kind of service for children aged from birth to school age and you don't need to be the child's 'parent' - see a list of possible services and adult/child relationship types below and feel free to add your own. We define 'family' as broadly as possible). We are interested in your ideas and experiences regardless of your role in the child's life if you ever visited an early childhood service with them(Required.)
2.What best describes your relationship to the child or children? (pick all that apply)(Required.)
3.How do you identify (select as many options as you like)(Required.)
4.Which services did you you attend with your child/ren? (pick all that apply)(Required.)
5.Did you make your gender or sexual identity know to your child/ren’s early childhood service(s)?(Required.)
6.Why did you/didn't you?
7.How do you want your rainbow family to feel at your child/ren’s early childhood service(s)? (select all that apply or add your own)
8.Are there any other ways you want your rainbow family to feel at their service(s)?
9.In your experience, do early childhood services and professionals make you and your rainbow family feel this way?
10.What else would you like your child/ren’s early childhood service(s) to do (or that they already do and works well) (pick as many as you like?
11.What are your ideas on how Mothers Day and Fathers Day should be celebrated within early childhood services?
12.Do you have anything else we should know about Mothers Day, Fathers Day or other family celebrations? What else could services do? 
13.Have you ever felt unsafe or excluded due to your gender identity or sexuality at any of your child/ren’s early childhood service(s)?
14.If you feel comfortable, we'd love to hear an example or two of a bad, unpleasant or difficult experience in your child/ren’s early childhood service(s) associated with your gender identity or sexuality so we can better understand what services should NOT do. Visit beyondblue.org.au or rainbowdoor.org.au if you feel distressed and would like someone to talk to. In an emergency, please dial 000 immediately
15.Is there anything else early childhood services should do for LGBTIQA++ adults and their children?
16.What's something(s) that a school or another service, institution, business, place done to make you feel welcome, included and valued because of your gender identity and sexuality?
17.Is there anything early childhood professionals should NOT ask you or assume as an adult with diverse gender or sexuality?
18.Is there anything you'd like early childhood professionals to know, or that they SHOULD ask you, as an adult with diverse gender and sexuality?
19.Is there anything else you'd like to tell us or early childhood services? This may be other stories not captured, other ideas not captured, language that should be embraced or avoided, representation matters not captured. ANYthing you feel necessary - EVERY idea and thought is welcome
20.Do you give us permission to use your written responses in our published resource. Your identity will be kept anonymous?(Required.)
21.To say thanks for helping us create this resource - we'd love to share our e-version with you when it's published next year. If you'd like a copy, please let us know your email address. Alternatively, you can follow us on Instagram @ethical_interactions for curated material and resources released