Berwick Toy Library Membership Policy

Last updated and approved: July 2022

• Purpose of the Policy

  To ensure general members, Committee members and volunteers understand the expectations of joining the Berwick Toy Library. 

  
  

  This is a Community Toy Library and is run completely by a volunteer Committee of current members.  Berwick Toy Library does not employ any paid staff. We depend on the co-operation of all members in order for our sessions to run efficiently, keep our toys in good condition and to maintain appropriate safety standards.

  Relevant Documents

  Berwick Toy Library Own Rules (constitution)

  Fees and Charges Policy

  Privacy Policy

  
  
  

  Membership Categories

• Standard Family Membership 
• • borrow 4 toys per child and an additional two large items per family (up to a maximum of 10 toys)
  • Borrow an extra toy on birthdays or when attending for duty in addition to caps
  • Duty (equivalent of one 2 hour duty per term or pay non attendance fee)
• Standard Concession Family Membership 
• • borrow 4 toys per child and an additional two large items per family (up to a maximum of 10 toys)
  • Borrow an extra toy on birthdays or when attending for duty in addition to caps
  • Duty (equivalent of one 2 hour duty per term or pay non attendance fee)
  • Subject to Committee Approval and limits on Concession Memberships
  • Concession Card must be provided prior to approving and expiry date recorded
  • Link for Concession Membership renewal payments will only be provided by President/Vice President once concession status confirmed.
• Family Daycare Membership 
• • borrow up to 10 toys
  • Duty (equivalent of one 2 hour duty per term or pay non attendance fee) 
  • Borrow an extra toy when attending for duty in addition to caps
  • No new Family Daycare memberships will be accepted but existing will be honoured.
• Committee Membership 
• • borrow up to 10 toys
  • Duty - minimum equivalent of 2 sessions per term
  • One Committee meeting per term 
  • WWCC and agreement with policies/procedures required
  • Help out behind the scenes where able eg. Toy Processing, Admin etc

  Note: A member may choose to be on the Committee and not have a Committee Membership eg. If they only want to attend meetings and not assist during sessions.

• Non Borrowing Membership/ Pause 
• • One term - 3 months. May be extended in exceptional circumstances with the approval of the President or Vice President.
  • Ideally for those who will be going overseas on holiday for more than a couple of months or if a new baby is coming and life may be a bit hectic.
  • No borrowing or rostered duty during ‘non borrowing’ period (duty non attendance fee does not apply during this period)
  • No expiry extension (Same expiry date as when joined/paid renewal)
  • All toys must be returned and all fees/charges owing must be paid prior to implementing
  • Will be reinstated automatically at the end of term and a duty rostered for next borrowing session. 
  • Retains membership place
  
  
  

  Waitlist

  In order to manage the service effectively a waitlist has been introduced for prospective members. Our capacity is subject to change and is regularly reviewed by the Committee.

• Standard Membership Waitlist
• • Prospective members to sign up through Standard Membership Waitlist
  • Positions offered based on date waitlist form completed
  • From time to time families will be required to confirm they wish to remain on the waitlist or they will be removed
  • Places offered via email only.
  • Once place offered, families have 48 hours to complete application form and make relevant payment or the position will be offered to the next family on the waitlist
• Committee Membership Waitlist
• • For prospective members interested in joining the Committee only
  • Places offered only when vacancies exist on the Committee and after a meeting with the President or Vice President.
  • Joining Fees, all terms and conditions and additional charges still apply
  • If at any point minimum Committee responsibilities (see Committee Membership) cannot be fulfilled or a Member who has been accepted through Committee Waitlist elects to resign from the Committee, their membership will be suspended until the point at which they are offered a place through the Standard Waitlist process.
  • Families on the Committee Membership Waitlist will also retain their Place on the Standard Membership Waitlist.
  
  
  

  All general members are required to adhere to this Membership Policy including responsibilities relating to membership and care/safety of toys.

  
  

  Membership Responsibilities

  • Pay annual membership fee unless an alternate agreement exists
  • $60 for families ($40 concession) (4 toys per child up to a maximum of 10)
  • $130 for Family Daycare members- existing only (10 toys)

  NOTE:. Memberships are non transferable or refundable. 

  
  
  • Complete the equivalent of one rostered duty per term This is currently one 3 hour duty every 6 months but is subject to change. 
  
  
  • Sign up for a borrowing appointment via the Member Online Portal prior to attending.
  
  
  • Review the fortnightly newsletter and notify the toy library if it was not received.
  
  
  • Return items at the next borrowing session or renew online in advance if you are unable to do so. Items may be renewed once only and overdue fees apply if toys are not returned within 2 weeks of overdue notice.
  
  
  • Notify the Session Leader or Committee immediately of any broken, damaged or unsafe toys either in person or via email berwicktoylibrary@gmail.com 
  
  
  • Notify the Session Leader immediately of any injuries or safety risks observed while attending the toy library and using toys that have been borrowed.
  
  
  • Be aware of the existence of our important documents including Child Safe Policy, Code of Conduct, Statement of Commitment as well as all procedures, policies and the constitution and know these are available to review at member’s request.
  
  
  •  Agree to follow our core values and behaviours (listed at end of policy) when attending or representing the Toy Library. 
• Supervise own children at all times when attending the toy library.
• Pay charge of $5 per missing or damaged piece for small losses/damage. Larger losses or damage will be dealt with individually. Missing Piece Charges will be refunded if missing pieces or toys are returned.
• 
  
  • Pay Duty Non Attendance Charge of $40 for not attending a scheduled duty within the specified time period. This will only be waived in extenuating circumstances at the discretion of the President/Vice President. You may pay this upfront and not be included in the duty roster if desired.
  
  
  • Pay charge of up to $150 per item if lost/damaged beyond repair and needing replacement. This includes returning toys in poor condition with drawing/fading or pieces broken.
• Pay charge of up to $150 per item for failure to return items when ceasing Toy Library membership.
• 
  
  

  Care and Safety of Toys Responsibilities

  
  
  • Understand that it is the member’s individual responsibility to ensure the safety of their own children while attending the Berwick Toy Library or playing with toys/items borrowed. While every effort is made by volunteers to ensure toys available are safe for use, it is ultimately the responsibility of members to assess the suitability and risks of providing items they have borrowed to their children.
  
  
  • Review Age recommendations and warnings on the label to ensure suitability for own children prior to borrowing. If unsure, check with the Session Leader.
  
  
  • Count pieces and check safety of items within 24 hours of arriving home. Notify us within 24 hours of any missing pieces or damage observed or you will be responsible for associated charges.  Do not allow children to play without first performing a safety and suitability check.
  
  
  • Take all reasonable care with items, ensuring that children are supervised and do not have access to writing instruments, scissors etc when playing with items.
  
  
  • Ensure that any safety equipment required for items is provided for your child/ren eg. helmets, soft fall landing etc. Berwick Toy Library does not provide safety equipment due to the variety of individual requirements of children.
  
  
  • Clean items prior to returning according to guidelines.
  
  
  • Count pieces and check toys prior to returning. 
  
  
  • Leave any warning labels or stickers intact and notify the Session Leader if these are damaged or removed.
  
  

  In addition to core responsibilities, all general members are invited to :

  
  
  • Contribute to and assist with fundraisers
  
  
  • Assist with working bees, stocktake and processing toys
  
  
  • Attend the Annual General Meeting
  
  
  • Train as a Session Leader or Assistant (Current Working with Children Check required)
  
  
  • Nominate for our Committee (Current Working with Children Check required) if vacancies exist
  
  
  • Donate funds to our fundraising account
  
  
  • Provide feedback, suggest improvements or air grievances at any time by emailing berwicktoylibrary@gmail.com

By signing up to become a member, you agree to the following:

 

BERWICK TOY LIBRARY - WAIVER, RELEASE AND INDEMNITY FOR BICYCLE AND SCOOTERS

The BERWICK TOY LIBRARY ("Provider") is pleased to make bicycles and scooters available to subscribers ("the Service").

As a subscriber to the Service you acknowledge that there are dangers and risks inherent with bicycle and scooter riding (the “Activity”) to which any child under your supervision ("Your Child") may be exposed.

The Provider does not provide protective clothing or bicycle helmets and it is your responsibility to ensure that Your Child wears a helmet at all times and is otherwise appropriately attired when participating in the Activity. You agree that Your Child will participate in the Activity at your own risk. You also agree to voluntarily assume responsibility for supervising the Activity and any injury, death or property damage you or Your Child may suffer or cause as a result of participating in the Activity.

To the maximum extent possible at law, you (both in your personal capacity and on behalf of Your Child) agree to release, hold harmless and indemnify the Provider and its respective officers, employees, servants, agents and contractors (the “Indemnified Persons”) against all actions, claims, suits, costs, expenses, demands and damages suffered or incurred by the Indemnified Persons or any one or more of them by reason of, or in respect of, or in any manner whatsoever arising out of, or caused by, your use of the Service or Your Child's participation in the Activity.

You agree that you are subscribing to the Service on the express condition that the Provider:

(a) will, under no circumstances be liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any death, loss, accident, damage or injury to you, Your Child or any of your servants, agents, contractors, visitors or invitees or any other person whatsoever (“Related Party”) which may happen as a result of your use of the Service or Your Child participating in the Activity; and

(b) will not incur or be under any liability whatsoever to you, Your Child, or to any Related Party for any loss, damage or injury to or in respect of any of your property or of any Related Party’s property.

The Provider is not liable to you, Your Child or any Related Party in respect of any indirect or consequential loss. For the avoidance of doubt, ‘consequential loss’ means loss or damage arising from a breach of contract, tort (including negligence), under statute or any other basis in law or equity of an indirect or consequential nature including, but without limitation, loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss or denial of opportunity, loss of goodwill, loss of business reputation, future reputation or publicity, damage to credit rating and indirect, remote, abnormal or unforeseeable loss, or any similar loss whether or not in the reasonable contemplation of the parties.

 

Child Safe Policy and Statement of Commitment Last approved: 29 July 2022

Our commitment to child safety 

Our organisation is committed to child safety. 

We want children to be safe, happy, and empowered. We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers. 

We are committed to the safety of all children.

We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our robust policies and procedures.

We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously. 

Our organisation has robust recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers.

We have policies, procedures and education in place that support our staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments. 

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

Our staff and volunteers

This policy guides our staff and volunteers on how to behave with children in our organisation. 

Children should never be left unsupervised in the care of toy library staff or volunteers. Parents/guardians should always supervise their children at the toy library. Wherever feasible toy libraries should implement the ‘two-person rule’ – ensuring there are two people present when the toy library is open.

All our staff and volunteers must agree to abide by our code of conduct, which specifies the standards of conduct required when working with children. 

Our organisational culture aims for all staff and volunteers to feel confident and comfortable in discussing any allegations of child abuse or child safety concerns. Education is important to ensure that everyone in our organisation understands that child safety is everyone’s responsibility.  All staff receives training on our code of conduct.

Any inappropriate behaviour will be reported through appropriate channels, including the relevant government department or police, depending on the severity and urgency of the matter.

Training and supervision

Training and education are important to ensure that everyone in our organisation understands that child safety is everyone’s responsibility. 

Our organisational culture aims for all staff and volunteers (in addition to parents/carers and children) to feel confident and comfortable in discussing any allegations of child abuse or child safety concerns. We train our staff to identify, assess, and minimise risks of child abuse and to detect potential signs of child abuse. 

New employees and volunteers will be supervised regularly to ensure they understand our organisation’s commitment to child safety and that everyone has a role to play in protecting children from abuse, as well as checking that their behaviour towards children is safe and appropriate (please refer to this organisation’s code of conduct to understand appropriate behaviour further). Any inappropriate behaviour will be reported through appropriate channels, including the relevant government department or police depending on the severity and urgency of the matter.

Recruitment

We take all reasonable steps to employ appropriately skilled people to work with our members. We develop selection criteria that clearly demonstrate our commitment to child safety and an awareness of our social and legislative responsibilities. 

We carry out reference checks and working with children checks for any paid staff members to ensure that we are recruiting the right people. Please see www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/  for further information 

Fair procedures for personnel

The safety and wellbeing of members is our primary concern. We are also fair and just to personnel. The decisions we make when recruiting, assessing incidents, and undertaking disciplinary action will always be thorough, transparent, and based on evidence. 

We record all allegations of abuse and safety concerns using our incident reporting form, including investigation updates. All records are securely stored. 

If an allegation of abuse or a safety concern is raised, we provide updates to children and families on progress and any actions we as an organisation take. 

Privacy

All personal information considered or recorded will respect the privacy of the individuals involved, whether they are staff, volunteers, parents, or children, unless there is a risk to someone’s safety. We have safeguards and practices in place to ensure any personal information is protected. Everyone is entitled to know how this information is recorded, what will be done with it, and who will have access to it. 

Legislative responsibilities

Our organisation takes our legal responsibilities seriously, including:

• Failure to disclose: Reporting child sexual abuse is a community-wide responsibility. All adults who have a reasonable belief that an adult has committed a sexual offence against a child under 16 have an obligation to report that information to the police.
• Failure to protect: People of authority in our organisation will commit an offence if they know of a substantial risk of child sexual abuse and have the power or responsibility to reduce or remove the risk, but negligently fail to do so.

• Any personnel who are mandatory reporters must comply with their duties. 

Risk management

Organisations are required to protect children when a risk is identified (see information about failure to protect above). In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children.

We have risk management strategies in place to identify, assess, and take steps to minimise child abuse risks, which include risks posed by physical environments (for example, any doors that can lock), and online environments (for example, no staff or volunteer is to have contact with a child in the organisation on social media). 

Regular review

This policy will be reviewed every two years and following significant incidents if they occur. We will ensure that families and children can contribute to the review. Where possible we do our best to work with local Aboriginal communities, culturally and/or linguistically diverse communities and people with a disability. 

Allegations, concerns, and complaints

Our organisation takes all allegations seriously and has practices in place to investigate thoroughly and quickly. 

We work to ensure all families, staff and volunteers know what to do and who to tell if they observe abuse or are a victim, and if they notice inappropriate behaviour. 

We all have a responsibility to report an allegation of abuse if we have a reasonable belief that an incident took place (see information about failure to disclose above).

If an adult has a reasonable belief that an incident has occurred, then they must report the incident. Factors contributing to reasonable belief may be:

• A child states they or someone they know has been abused (noting that sometimes the child may in fact be referring to themselves)
• Behaviour consistent with that of an abuse victim is observed
• Someone else has raised a suspicion of abuse but is unwilling to report it
• Observing suspicious behaviour. 

Child Safe Code of Conduct

 

All staff, volunteers and committee members of our organisation are required to observe child safe principles and expectations for appropriate behaviour towards and in the company of children, as noted below.

All staff, volunteers and committee members are responsible for supporting the safety, participation, wellbeing and empowerment of children by:

• always adhering to our child safe policy and upholding our statement of commitment to child safety at all time
• taking all reasonable steps to protect children from abuse
• treating everyone with respect
• listening and responding to the views and concerns of children, particularly if they are telling you that they or another child has been abused and/or are worried about their safety or the safety of another
• promoting the cultural safety, participation, and empowerment of children with culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds (for example, by having a zero tolerance of discrimination)
• promoting the safety, participation, and empowerment of children with a disability (for example, during personal care activities)
• ensuring that adults are not left alone with a child
• reporting any allegations of child abuse to our Child Safety Officer Chantelle Martin and/or President Ashlea Kight and ensure any allegation to reported to the police or child protection
• reporting any child safety concerns to our Child Safety Officer or the President 
• if an allegation of child abuse is made, ensure as quickly as possible that the child(ren) are safe

Staff and volunteers must not:

• develop any ‘special’ relationships with children that could be seen as favouritism (for example, the offering of gifts or special treatment for specific children)
• exhibit behaviours with children which may be construed as unnecessarily physical (for example inappropriate sitting on laps). Sitting on laps could be appropriate sometime, for example while reading a storybook to a small child in an open plan area)
• put children at risk of abuse (for example, by locking doors)
• engage in open discussions of a mature or adult nature in the presence of children (for example, personal social activities)
• use inappropriate language in the presence of children
• express personal views on cultures, race or sexuality in the presence of children
• discriminate against any child, including because of culture, race, ethnicity or disability
• have any online contact with a child or their family (unless necessary, for example providing families with e- newsletters)
• ignore or disregard any suspected or disclosed child abuse.

By observing these standards you acknowledge your responsibility to immediately report any breach of this code to Berwick Toy Library’s Child Safety Officer Chantelle Martin and/or President Ashlea Kight If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000.