Child Safety | surfcoasttoylibrary

Surf Coast Toy Library Child Safety Policy

NOTE: If you believe a child is at
immediate risk of abuse phone 000

INTRODUCTION

Surf Coast Toy Library is committed to promoting and protecting the interests and safety of children.
We have zero tolerance for child abuse. We are thereby committed to complying with the National
Principles for Child Safe Organisations and all the compulsory minimum standards for organisations
that provide services used by children and young people, to help protect children from harm.
Everyone working at Surf Coast Toy Library is responsible for the care and protection of children and
reporting information about child abuse.

APPLICATION

This policy applies to all staff, contractors and volunteers and to the broad range of situations where
interaction with children and young people may occur in the delivery of toy library services.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to:
1. ensure that all staff, contractors and volunteers engaged by Surf Coast Toy Library are aware
of the organisation’s commitment to creating and maintaining a child safe environment that
meets the required minimum standards
2. facilitate the prevention of child abuse within our organisation
3. establish the framework for an organisational culture of child safety
4. outline the responsibilities that various parties have for identifying possible occasions for
child abuse, for establishing controls and procedures for preventing abuse, and for detecting
abuse when it occurs
5. provide guidance to staff, contractors and volunteers as to action that should be taken
where they suspect any abuse within or outside of the organisation
6. provide a clear statement to staff, contractors and volunteers forbidding any such abuse
7. provide assurance that all suspected abuse will be reported and fully investigated.

OUR COMMITMENT TO CHILD SAFETY

Surf Coast Toy Library is committed to promoting and protecting the best interests of children
involved in its service, and to providing a child-safe and child-friendly environment for all children
and young people who engage with the organisation. Our organisation is committed to complying
with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and state child safety standards to help
protect children and young people from harm.
All children, regardless of their gender, race, religious beliefs, age, disability, sexual orientation, or
family or social background, have equal rights to protection from abuse. We have zero tolerance for
child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with
our policies and procedures.
Everyone working at Surf Coast Toy Library is responsible for the care and protection of the children
using our services and reporting information about suspected child abuse.
Child protection is a shared responsibility between the Surf Coast Toy Library and all staff,
contractors, volunteers, associates, and members of our community.
We will consider the opinions of children and use their opinions to develop child protection policies.
We respect all children and young people and support them to be safe, happy, and empowered.
We are committed to the cultural safety of children, and pay particular attention to the safety and
cultural safety of the following groups of children, in recognition of their increased vulnerability, and
diverse and unique identities and experiences:
● Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people
● children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
● children living with a disability
● children who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans
● children who are intersex, non-binary or gender diverse
● children in and out of home care and the youth justice system.

OUR APPROACH TO CHILD SAFETY

In continuing to implement and promote a child-safe system of work, we will:
● develop an environment in which children feel listened to and valued, and in which their
concerns are acted upon, including encouraging and allowing children to participate in
decisions important to them
● consult with staff, contractors and volunteers and other appropriate parties, including
families and children
● assess and manage the risk of abuse to children who interact with our organisation,
including through recruitment practices and online
● take a proactive approach to child safety, including fostering a culture of openness that
encourages all staff, contractors and volunteers to report any concerns of child safety and
supports them in this process
● report suspected abuse, neglect or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authority,
whether or not the law requires reporting
● ensure children know the options available to them if they are concerned or feeling unsafe,
and foster an environment where children are safe to raise such concerns
● recruit staff, contractors and volunteers who are suitable to work with children and provide
high quality training, supervision and professional development to staff, contractors and
volunteers as appropriate.
● have policies, procedures and supports in place to reflect these commitments, and review
these regularly.

AUTHORISATION

Rebecca Sonnex
11/03/2024
Surf Coast Toy Library

RESPONSIBILITIES

\All staff, contractors and volunteers are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of children and
young people who engage with our organisation. All staff, contractors and volunteers are expected
to act in accordance with our Code of Conduct in their physical and online interactions with children
and young people under the age of 18 years.
The committee of management has ultimate responsibility for the detection and prevention of child
abuse and is responsible for ensuring that appropriate and effective internal control systems are in
place. The [ committee of management is also responsible for ensuring that appropriate policies and
procedures and a Code of Conduct are in place.
The President is responsible for:
● dealing with and investigating reports of child abuse
● ensuring that all staff, contractors and volunteers are aware of relevant laws, organisational
policies and procedures, and the organisation’s Code of Conduct
● ensuring that all adults within our community are aware of their obligation to report
suspected sexual abuse of a child in accordance with these policies and procedures
● ensuring that all staff, contractors and volunteers are aware of their obligation to observe
the Code of Conduct
● providing support to staff, contractors and volunteers in undertaking their child protection
responsibilities.
All committee of management must ensure that they:
● promote child safety at all times
● assess the risk of child abuse within their area of control and eradicate or minimise any risk
to the extent possible
● educate those under their supervision whether they are staff, contractors or volunteers
about the prevention and detection of child abuse
● facilitate the reporting of any inappropriate behaviour or suspected abusive activities.
Session leaders should be familiar with the types of abuse that might occur within a toy library
environment and be alert for any indications of such conduct.

All staff, volunteers and contractors share responsibility for the prevention and detection of child
abuse, and must:
● familiarise themselves with relevant laws, the Code of Conduct, and our policy and
procedures in relation to child safety, and comply with all requirements
● report any reasonable belief that a child’s safety is at risk to the relevant authorities (such as
the police or the state child protection service)
● report any suspicion that a child’s safety may be at risk to their supervisor or the President
(or, if their supervisor/President is involved in the suspicion, to a responsible person in the
organisation)
● provide an environment that is supportive of all children’s emotional and physical safety.

DEFINITIONS

Child means a child or young person who is under the age of 18 years.
Child protection means any responsibility, measure or activity undertaken to safeguard children
from harm.
Child abuse means
● a sexual offence committed against, with or in the presence of a child, whether or not a
criminal proceeding in relation to the offence has been commenced or concluded, or
● sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child, or
● physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of a child, or
● any behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child or
significant neglect of a child.
Child sexual assault is any act which exposes a child to, or involves a child in, sexual processes
beyond his or her understanding or contrary to accepted community standards. Sexually
abusive behaviours can include the fondling of genitals, masturbation, oral sex, vaginal or
anal penetration by a penis, finger or any other object, fondling of breasts, voyeurism,
exhibitionism, and exposing the child to or involving the child in pornography. It includes
child grooming, which refers to actions deliberately undertaken with the aim of befriending
and establishing an emotional connection with a child to lower the child’s inhibitions in
preparation for sexual activity with the child.
Non-member volunteers are people volunteering at the toy library who are not members of the toy
library.
Reasonable grounds for belief is a belief based on reasonable grounds (see below) that child abuse
has occurred when all known considerations or facts relevant to the formation of a belief are

taken into account and these are objectively assessed. Circumstances or considerations may
include the source of the allegation and how it was communicated, the nature of and details
of the allegation, and whether there are any other related matters known regarding the
alleged perpetrator.
A reasonable belief is formed if a reasonable person believes that:
● the child is in need of protection, or
● the child has suffered or is likely to suffer significant harm as a result of physical injury, or
● the parents are unable or unwilling to protect the child.
A “reasonable belief” or a “belief on reasonable grounds” is not the same as having proof, but it is
more than mere rumour or speculation.
A “reasonable belief” is formed if a reasonable person in the same position would form the belief on
the same grounds. For example, a “reasonable belief” might be formed if:
a) a child states that they have been physically or sexually abused
b) a child states that they know someone who has been physically or sexually abused
(the child may be talking about themselves)
c) someone who knows a child states that the child has been physically or sexually
abused
d) signs of abuse lead to a belief that the child has been physically or sexually abused.
Session leaders are volunteers who run toy library opening sessions that involve supervising other
volunteers.
Supervisor is a person overseeing the work of a staff member, volunteer or contractor. This could be
a toy library manager, session leader or President depending on the individual’s role.
Toy librarian is anyone paid to work in a toy library.
Toy library manager is a senior toy librarian who has other staff reporting to them.

TOY LIBRARY OPERATIONS

Children should never be left in the care of toy library staff or volunteers. Parents/guardians must
always supervise their children at the toy library, so that two adults will be present when there are
children (other than staff/volunteer’s own children) in the toy library.
Surf Coast Toy Library will ensure that child safety is a part of its overall risk management approach.

VOLUNTEER SCREENING

Guidance note – WWCC for committees, non-member volunteers and session leaders:
Requirements for and availability of Working with Children Checks (WWCC) vary by state.
● Victoria and New South Wales: Toy library volunteers 18 and over require a WWCC except
if they are a parent or close family member volunteering in the same activity their child is
participating, or normally participates in.

We require all eligible Committee of Management non-member volunteers and session leaders to have
Working with Children Check and agree to our Code of Conduct.

TRAINING

Surf Coast Toy Library is committed to ensuring that staff, contractors and volunteers have access to
appropriate induction and ongoing training in relation to their child safety responsibilities, including our
child safety policies and procedures and the Code of Conduct.
Training will be available through Toy Libraries Australia for staff and volunteer leaders. This training
will include how to identify, assess and minimise the risk of child abuse and detect potential
signs of child abuse.

REPORTING

All staff, volunteers and contractors are responsible for reporting child safety concerns to their
supervisor (e.g. toy library manager or session leader) or the President as soon as possible after
receiving such information or forming a belief that a child is at risk.
In situations where the supervisor is suspected of involvement in the activity, or if the person having
the suspicion does not believe that the matter is being appropriately addressed or dealt with, the
matter should be reported to the President.
Supervisors must report complaints of suspected abusive behaviour or misconduct to the President.
If any staff member or contractor has a reasonable belief that reportable conduct may have
occurred, then they must report the incident to the President directly and immediately. If the
incident potentially involves a criminal offence, the incident must also be reported to the local
police station or by calling 000 after consulting with the President if reasonably practicable.
Reportable conduct includes the following incidents:
● a sexual offence committed against, with or in the presence of, a child, whether or not a
criminal proceeding in relation to the offence has been commenced or concluded
● sexual misconduct committed against, with or in the presence of a child
● physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of a child

● any behaviour that causes significant emotional or psychological harm to a child
● significant neglect of a child.
Where a law enforcement agency is seeking to investigate child safety concerns, staff members,
contractors and volunteers must co-operate to the best of their ability.
Our President can be contacted by email at surfcoasttoylibrary@gmail.com or by phone on
0474846043.

INVESTIGATING

If the appropriate child protection service or the police decide to investigate a report, all employees,
contractors or volunteers must co-operate fully with the investigation.
Whether or not the authorities decide to conduct an investigation, the President will consult with
the authorities to determine whether an internal investigation is appropriate. If it is decided that
such an investigation will not conflict with any proceeding of the authorities, the President may
decide to conduct such an investigation. All employees, contractors and volunteers must co-operate
fully with the investigation.
Any such investigation will be conducted according to the rules of natural justice including the right
to be heard, the right to be treated without bias, and a decision being based on relevant evidence.
The President will make every effort to keep any such investigation confidential; however, from
time-to-time other staff and volunteers may need to be consulted in relation to the investigation.
After an initial review and a determination that the suspected abuse warrants additional
investigation, the President shall coordinate the investigation with the appropriate investigators and
law enforcement officials. Internal or external legal representatives will be involved in the process as
deemed appropriate.

RESPONDING

If it is alleged that staff member, contractor or volunteer may have committed an offence or
breached the organisation’s policies or its Code of Conduct, the person concerned may be stood
down (with pay, where applicable) while an investigation is conducted.
Standing down of a staff member, contractor or volunteer during an investigation does not imply
that the individual has committed an offence or breached the organisation’s policies or its Code of
Conduct and should not be considered as a disciplinary action.
If the investigation concludes that on the balance of probabilities an offence (or a breach of the
organisation’s policies or Code of Conduct) has occurred then disciplinary action may follow, up to
and including dismissal or cessation of involvement with the organisation.

PRIVACY

Surf Coast Toy Library will respect the privacy of the individuals involved unless there is a risk to
someone’s safety. We will have safeguards and practices in place to ensure that any personal
information considered or recorded remains confidential. Information will be provided to relevant
authorities in compliance with State, territory or federal law as required.
In accordance with privacy laws, everyone is entitled to know how the personal information will be
recorded, what will or can be done with it, and who may be able to access it.

REVIEWING

Every two years, and following every reportable incident, a review shall be conducted to assess
whether the organisation’s child protection policies or procedures require modification to better
protect the children under the organisation’s care.