Winners announced: Toy library grants to support children with additional support needs.

Toy libraries across Australia will be busy in the coming months delivering projects to improve their accessibility for children with additional support needs including Autism, ADHD and Developmental Delay.

In February Minister Rishworth announced DSS funding to enable TLA to run a very special and targeted grant program to toy libraries. Minister Rishworth said “At the heart of this is Australia’s children. We want them to thrive, to love to learn, and to help parents and carers have time to connect with community.”

TLA is proud to represent the toy libraries of Australia who are passionately helping children access quality toys and resources to enable fun and learning at home every day. Toy libraries give local families a place to connect and support their children in fun and welcoming community environment.

We know our toy libraries have a commitment to continually improving their toy libraries including a desire to improve accessibility for children with disabilities and developmental delay. It was no surprise to us, given the passion within our toy library community, that the grant round enabling targeted support to children with additional support needs received 67 worthy grant applications from member toy libraries.

Through the funding made available by DSS the toy libraries listed below will receive $1,000 to deliver their projects. All of the projects have identified local people or groups with either lived experience of disabilities, or professionals who support children with disabilities to connect with to deliver and promote their project. Toy libraries will build on existing connections and make new connections to ensure the resources and services meets the current needs of local children who have additional support needs.

A large number of toy libraries will spend funding directly on toys and the storage such as Goldfields Regional Toy Library (Kalgoorlie, WA) who plan to use the grant funding to purchase various items and compile kits to help families and carers to achieve their goals of helping their children to regulate sensory needs and engage meaningfully with their world. Each kit will include products that; stimulate tactile, visual, and auditory senses; promote skills like regulated breathing, self-affirmation and mindfulness; visual timers assisting with transitions, time blindness, and building achievable routines. The Goldfields toy library state “Given the current economic conditions it is understandable that families feel overwhelmed by the oversaturation of items out there claiming to support children with additional needs. These kits allow families to ‘try before they buy’.”

A number of toy libraries identified accessibility to the toy library as an area of improvement and funding will be spent on improving targeted areas of accessibility. For example Rosebud Toy Library (Victoria) who will support families and children with additional support needs by securing the services of a professional to develop a social story about visiting the Toy Library. Through the project the Rosebud Toy Library committee plans to liaise with both toy library members and community partners to develop a list of toys suitable to support this group of members and purchase them for loan to better understand an already identified gap in the collection in the area of sensory toys and resources.

We congratulate all toy library grant recipients:

• Albury Toy Library (NSW)- Resources support for children with additional needs.

• Glen Innes Reachout Toy Library (NSW)- Play-based and neurodiverse-affirming resources

• Newcastle Toy Library (NSW)- Inclusive Growth Project - improved services to support children with additional needs.

• Wagga Wagga Toy Library (NSW)- Sensory toy kids to support children with additional needs in Wagga district

• Early Ed Cubby House Toy Library (NSW)- Adapting play for babies with a disability

• Middle Dural Toy Library (NSW)- First Concepts in Play: Enhancing Learning for Every Child

• Cairns Region Toy Library (QLD)- Purchase of toys for children with additional needs

• Play Matters Toy Library (QLD)- Play Matters Family Connect

• Townsville Toy Library (QLD)- Additional needs toys at Townsville Toy Library

• Capricorn Coast Toy Library (QLD)- Purchasing Sensory Toys and Play Resources

• City of Burnside Toy Library (SA)- Toy Library Social Story

• Tea Tree Gully Toy Library (SA)- Autism Inclusion Project

• Unley Toy Library (SA)- Sensory Play Resources

• Angliss Neighbourhood House (Vic)- Bluestone Toy Library - a welcoming space for all families

• Banyule Toy Library (Vic)- Providing an inclusive and supportive toy library for children with additional support needs

• Belgrave South Toy Library (Vic) -Toy Together Project

• Eltham Toy Library (Vic)- Toys for children with additional support needs

• Elwood Toy Library (Vic)- Adding some balance toys to our toy library

• Emerald Hill Toy Library (Vic)- Support Abilities

• Maroondah Toy Library (Vic)- Carers Support Program Reloaded

• Nunawading Toy Library (Vic)- All abilities stay and play

• Richmond Toy Library (Vic)- Flexible Support Saturdays: Inclusive Low Sensory Sessions for Diverse Families

• Beechworth Toy Library (Vic)- Giving Beechworth what it needs.

• Carnegie Toy Library (Vic)- Celebrating neurodiversity with toys and games

• Leopold Toy Library (Vic)- Enhancing Inclusivity: Expanding Toy Library Resources for Children with Additional Support Needs

• Maryborough Toy Library (Vic)- Tactile sensory toy collection

• Moonee Valley Toy Library (Vic)- Better access to sensory play equipment for children with additional support needs

• Moorabbin Area Toy Library (Vic)- Sensory resources for emotional regulation

• Mountain Top Toy Library (Vic)- Sensing for Change

• Port Melbourne Toy Library (Vic)- Sensory Toy Trial Collection

• Rosebud Toy Library (Vic)- Toy Library Support for All

• Sunraysia Toy Library (Vic)- Supporting Neurodivergent Families and Children

• Swan Hill Community Toy Library (Vic)- Supporting Children to Thrive Through Play

• Warrnambool Toy Library (Vic)- Sensory Resource Trial Packs

• Wellington Toy Library (Vic)- Showcasing our Sensory Toys with Sensory Sessions

• Puffing Billy Toy Library (Vic)- Puffing Billy Inclusion Project

• Sunbury Toy Library (Vic)- Supporting therapeutic play for children with additional needs

• Kyneton and District Toy Library (Vic)- Inclusion project

• Romsey Toy Library (Vic)- Fostering a welcome and inclusive environment at Romsey Toy Library

• Knox and District Toy Library (Vic)- Supporting children with additional needs

• Wyndham Little Buddies Toy Library (Vic)- Supporting children with additional support needs at Little Buddies

• Stonnington Toy Library (Vic)- Supporting Deaf Children to thrive through play by providing a library of Auslan language play resources

• Bayswater Organisation of Loan Toys (WA)- Inclusive play: supporting families with additional needs

• Carlisle/Victoria Park Toy Library (WA)- Playful possibilities

• Floreat Toy Library (WA)- First Concepts and Sensory Based Toys

• Goldfields Regional Toy Library (WA)- Supporting children with additional needs in the Goldfields

• Leederville Toy Library (WA)- Sensory pathways: Fostering an inclusive play haven for children with additional needs

• Manning Community Toy Library (WA)-  Purchasing sensory focused toys and resources

• North Beach Toy Library (WA)- Toys & Spaces for Neurodiverse Families

• Rainbow Coast Toy Library (WA)- Sensory Play Is For All

• Scarborough Toy Library (WA)- Inclusive Play for All

• Shenton Park Toy Library (WA)- Additional sensory focused toys and resources available at Shenton Park Toy Library

• South Perth Toy Library (WA)- Growing Through Play for All

• Wagin Toy Library (WA)- Wagin Toy Library Toy Expansion Grant Application

• Whitfords Rainbow Toy Library (WA)- Whitfords Rainbow Toy Library Inclusivity Project

• Yokine Toy Library (WA)- Inclusivity and Understanding

• Cranbrook Frankland River Toy Library (WA)- ALL Kids Develop Through Play

• Dalwallinu Toy Library (WA)- Play for All: Expanding Our Toy Library for Children with Disabilities

• Exmouth Toy Library (WA)- Supporting children with additional support needs

• Paraburdoo Toy Library (WA)- Toy Library Joy: Enabling inclusive play for children with additional needs

• Bunbury Regional Toy Library (WA)- Support Resources accessible for all Children

• Cockburn Toy Library (WA)- Communication board

• Geraldton Community Toy Library (WA)- Physical Skill Development Toys to support children a risk or vulnerable to physical health

• Kalamunda Toy Library (WA)- Empowering Children though Medical Play

• Tuart Forest Toy Library (WA)- I'm safe to play

To follow the progress of these toy libraries implementation of the grant funded projects click on their name above and follow them on social media.