NDIA Accountability Project

Toy Libraries as an original foundational support

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Submission No 7

INQUIRY INTO FOUNDATIONAL AND DISABILITY SUPPORTS AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Organisation: Toy Libraries Australia Inc Date Received: 4 April 2025

Submission to the Select Committee on Foundational and Disability Supports

Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales March 2025

About toy libraries

Toy libraries are a magical space where children and adults come together to connect through play.

A toy library enables families to borrow a large variety of educational toys, games, puzzles, and equipment in a process like that of a book library. These toys suit children aged from birth to primary school and beyond. Toy Libraries Australia’s members have a specific focus on promoting the educational value of play for younger children, encouraging positive adult/child interactions through play, and creating strong community connections in a setting that encourages the sustainable use of resources.

There are 380 toy libraries across Australia, including 70 in NSW, with over 130,000 people using a toy library each year. Our member toy libraries operate in a variety of formats and settings, including independent organisations, programs of larger community services providers and council run.

Our perspectives on foundational supports

The attached document outlines Toy Libraries Australia’s perspectives on foundational supports. We believe foundational supports should be:

  • Family- and community-centric
  • Well integrated
  • Easily accessible
  • Place-based with national guidelines
  • Build on what exists today.

Toy libraries can contribute to a foundational support system as both a general foundational support for children with developmental concerns, delay or disability and a targeted foundational support for children with disability requiring specialist toys and resources.

We currently have pilots underway, testing how toy libraries can best support families with disability. Our NSW pilot site is at Cubby House Toy Library in Forestville.

We would welcome the opportunity to present to the select committee at your hearings in May and June.

Kind regards

Debbie Williams Kerry Dominish Chief Executive Officer Toy Libraries Australia Board Member & Toy Libraries Australia CEO EarlyEd and Cubby House Toy Library

Toy Libraries

AUSTRALIA

TOY LIBRARIES

an original foundational

support

Our history

The first Australian toy library was established by Noah’s Ark in 1971. At the time, families were beginning to refuse to put their children with disabilities into institutional care but they had limited resources and information to support them as parents. Toy libraries became a place where parents could learn about’ their child’s development, get support and a friendly ear, and meet other families in similar situations.

Toy libraries today

Today there are 390 toy libraries across Australia supporting over 80,000 children, including 70 NSW toy libraries. A small number of specialist disability toy libraries exist, but most toy libraries are mainstream services that inclusively support all families in their community.

Characteristics of toy libraries

  • Family and community-centred Toy libraries are strengths-based and embedded in the community. Using a community development approach, they reflect the needs of local families.

  • Mainstream soft-entry point Our libraries are an accessible soft entry point for busy families juggling multiple commitments and those who don’t engage with formal early years services.

  • Existing cost-effective service Toy libraries are already established and have capacity to grow and offer more. The community toy library model is cost- effective and supported by volunteers.

GET IN TOUCH

Debbie Williams Chief Executive Officer

Kerry Dominish Toy Libraries Australia Board Member & CEO EarlyEd

Toy Libraries Australia’s perspectives on Foundational supports for the early years

Purpose

Foundational supports should provide equitable, effective and accessible supports as early as possible to reduce all children’s developmental vulnerability and better support families to improve their wellbeing.

Toy libraries can be a…

  • mainstream service for all families
  • general foundational support for children with developmental concerns, delay or disability
  • targeted foundational support for children with disability requiring specialist toys and resources

Toy Libraries Australia is improving the accessibility of toy libraries for children with disability and their families, fostering inclusion and community connection.

Foundational supports should be…

1. Family- and community-centric

  • empower parents and caregivers
  • consider the whole family and the child’s broader ecosystem, particularly siblings
  • promote learning in everyday environments
  • reflect the child and family’s preferences

2. Well integrated

with mainstream, foundational and specialist supports

3. Easily accessible

  • open to any family and child
  • local with good physical accessibility
  • welcoming for families with disability
  • available at convenient times

4. Place-based within a national framework

  • co-designed with the community
  • reflect cultural diversity
  • national equality of access

5. Built on what exists today

  • Build on the strengths of what exists

For toy libraries’ to be sustainable foundational support…

Individual toy libraries need funding to:

Undertake training and supervision

Toy librarians need specific training to understand child development, how developmental differences can be supported in a toy library, and disability confidence and inclusion in a toy library context.

Improve integration

To better integrate the toy library with other services, toy libraries need to engage with early years networks and understand how to make connections between families, key workers, navigators and other early years services.

Increase accessibility

Employ more qualified staff, allowing the toy library to provide specific services for families with disability or developmental delay and increase opening hours making it easier for families, key workers and therapists to visit.

Toy Libraries Australia needs specific funding to:

Deliver training and supervision

Employ qualified staff to develop and deliver training to toy libraries on disability confidence, access and inclusion, and provide supervision for staff providing foundational support services.

Roll out disability inclusion initiatives

Support all toy libraries, including small regional ones, with the resources to roll out disability inclusion initiatives.

Open more toy libraries

Support communities to open new toy libraries, so that all children have a toy library close to home. Gaps exist today including across much of NSW.

Establish action research

Systematise a cyclical process of inquiry, change and evaluation to continuously improve toy libraries performance as a foundational support.