Welcome to the Queer Parenting Partnership.
We’re a UK-based community interest company (CIC) launched in 2020 to provide inclusive, trauma-informed antenatal and postnatal education for LGBTQ+ families.
We’re glad you’re here.
Inclusive perinatal education and community for LGBTQ+ families across the UK.
We launched The Queer Parenting Partnership in 2020, in response to the shocking lack of birth and parenting support services for LGBTQ+ people in the UK. Kay and Slade connected online and combined their knowledge around midwifery and childcare to create a complete antenatal and postnatal education programme.
Kay stepped back from the day to day running of TQPP in 2022 and formally left in 2026. In 2025, Cavyn joined The Queer Parenting Partnership, after attending our classes as a pregnant parent.
We recognise the need for additional services targeted at not only LGBTQ+ families but also at other families perceived to be minorities. Having said that, everyone is welcome at The Queer Parenting Partnership.
We exist to provide compassionate, inclusive and affirming perinatal education that empowers LGBTQ+ families to thrive. We create safe, knowledgeable spaces where queer parents and parents-to-be can access evidence based information, community connection and the confidence to navigate their unique paths to parenthood.
The Queer Parenting Partnership is a community interest company and we are not funded by any external organisations. If you would like to make a donation towards the work that we do, you can do so here:
Our Core Values
Our values shape everything we do, from the education and support we provide to the spaces we create for our community. They reflect our commitment to ensuring LGBTQ+ parents and parents-to-be feel seen, respected, informed and empowered throughout their journey.
Inclusivity
Every family deserves to feel that they belong. We celebrate the full diversity of LGBTQ+ identities, family structures, relationships, bodies and routes to parenthood, without treating any one experience as the default.
For us, inclusion is not an afterthought or an addition. We embed it in everything we do, creating spaces where people can show up as themselves without having to explain, justify or defend who they are or what their family looks like.
Accessibility
Support and education can only make a difference when people can access and understand them. The Queer Parenting Partnership actively works to remove barriers so that queer parents and families, regardless of ability, neurodivergence, language, income, background or geographical location, can access our services with dignity and ease.
We seek ongoing feedback, adapt our offerings and champion practices that make our services clearer, more welcoming and more accessible. We recognise that accessibility needs differ, and are committed to listening and learning rather than assuming one approach will work for everyone.
Compassion
Parenthood can bring joy, uncertainty, difficult decisions, complicated emotions and everything in between. We meet people wherever they are, with empathy, kindness and without judgement.
We create safe and affirming spaces where queer parents and parents-to-be can ask questions, explore their options and talk openly about their experiences. Nobody should feel ashamed of their identity, circumstances, body, relationships, parenting decisions or route to parenthood.
Empowerment
We believe you are the expert in your own life, body and family. Our role is not to tell you what your journey should look like, but to give you the knowledge, tools and support to make choices that feel right for you.
By providing clear, inclusive and evidence-based information, we aim to help queer parents and parents-to-be feel more confident asking questions, advocating for themselves and making informed decisions.
Community
There is enormous power in knowing you are not alone. We create opportunities for LGBTQ+ parents and parents-to-be to connect, share experiences and build relationships with people who understand some of the joys, questions and challenges that can come with queer parenthood.
We value lived experience alongside professional knowledge and recognise how much our communities can learn from and support one another. Our work is shaped by the people we serve, not simply delivered to them.
Education
Everyone deserves access to accurate, understandable information about conception, pregnancy, birth, the postnatal period and parenting. We provide evidence-based perinatal education that reflects the diverse realities of LGBTQ+ families rather than treating queer experiences as an afterthought.
We make complex information easier to understand without oversimplifying it, giving families the knowledge they need to explore their options and make informed choices.
Advocacy
LGBTQ+ families deserve services and systems that recognise, respect and support them from the beginning. We advocate for perinatal and parenting spaces that are more inclusive, knowledgeable and affirming of queer people and families.
Through education, visibility and collaboration, we challenge assumptions and practices that exclude LGBTQ+ people. We want to contribute to meaningful change so that future queer parents encounter fewer barriers to receiving the care, information and support they deserve.
Joy
Queer parenthood is about far more than navigating barriers. It is also about love, connection, excitement, creativity, silliness, pride and the everyday moments that make a family yours.
We celebrate queer families in all their diversity and the many different ways they are created, grow and thrive. Alongside acknowledging the challenges LGBTQ+ families can face, we make space for queer joy and for parenthood to be celebrated on its own terms.
More About Us
About Slade
(They/Them)
I am the co-founder of The Queer Parenting Partnership.
I have worked in the childcare industry for 20+ years and was a finalist in the UK Nanny of the Year Awards 2019. I was also a nominee for the same award in 2020 and 2021 but decided to step down for personal reasons.
In June 2018, I took the plunge to become a doula. My main motivation behind becoming a doula was helping a loved one through severe postnatal depression. Before I’d even finished my first day of training, I knew I wanted to work specifically with queer families and The Queer Doula was born.
Co-creating The Queer Parenting Partnership was the next logical step for me, as queer parents and parents from marginalised groups are consistently left out, let down or squeezed in as an afterthought, and I decided that if I want to effect change, it has to start with me.
About Cavyn
(Ze/They)
I am one of the TQPP parents, I found The Queer Parenting Partnership when I was pregnant and completed all my antenatal education with Slade and Kay.
I’ve worked in community development for the last five years and I have a background in academia.
I’m passionate about social justice and as a disabled person (with NDs) and a trans and non-binary person.
I’m Zeze to the fabulous HJ and I’m continually navigating the challenges of being a queer parent in a cishet world.
I’m excited to work with TQPP supporting Slade as this organisation and the community it fosters has been a big part of my parenting journey and an invaluable resource to me.