Connors Toy Library

Brief description of what services your organisation offers

Connors Toy Libraries provides:

• 11 Community Toy Library sessions providing stay and play sessions and toy loan to over 2000 families or carers with pre-school aged children annually. Sessions include play, craft activity, snack and singing to finish. We have a SEN session for children that have additional needs or would benefit from a quieter session – this is held on a Monday afternoon, 1pm – 2.30pm at Buckland Family Hub. Through talking and engaging with parents we are able to provide early intervention at an early stage, giving advice, support and signposting onto another service.
• Outreach support for hard to reach and vulnerable families. Families are referred to us by other professionals or services or can self refer themselves if they feel they need additional support. We provide home visits, support to access their local Toy Library session or another venue if more appropriate.
• Child Carers Toy Store, providing toys and resources for families, settings, organisations and professionals. Toys can be borrowed for up to 6 weeks or exchanged weekly supporting learning and development within the early years.
• Toys and resources for children with SEN, we have a vast stock of items for loan including bubble lamps, weighted blankets, dark dens for families to borrow to use within their own homes.
• Volunteering opportunities – parents are given the opportunity to gain recognised qualifications whilst volunteering; we provide recognised qualifications in first aid, safeguarding, manual handling and food safety.

Where the service is provided?

Weekly Community Toy Libraries providing stay and play and toy loan are based across Portsmouth, with the aim of having a Toy Library within walking distance of all families. Families with children with additional needs can borrow the resources to use within their own homes. The outreach workers provide home visits to hard to reach and vulnerable families across the city, supporting them to access their local Toy Library provision, other provision as appropriate.

The Child Carers Toy Store based in Portsea provides professionals working with, and caring for, children across the city the ability to borrow appropriate resources to support children’s development within their care, we provide a delivery service for those unable to get to the Toy Store themselves.

What the organisation provides?

Through the Community based Toy Library sessions families come together and share ideas, concerns with each other. This support is often a very early stage of intervention and can prevent issues escalating and becoming time consuming and very expensive for the local authority. The outreach workers provide home visits, parents and carers are given advice and resources around communication through play and play development and behavioural issues. Where parents or carers have referred themselves, we initiate Common Assessment Frameworks, identifying, referring and signposting to other relevant agencies and take on the role of the lead professional.

We support families to register with the dentist, doctors, attend the health clinic, and signpost them with issues around money, debt, domestic violence, housing etc. We have applied for funding donations for items needed by families including washing machines, beds, carpets, new door locks, moses basket, cot, clothing, nappies to name but a few. An online order system and delivery service is available to support those unable to get to the Toy Store to choose or collect resources, with many families ringing first for advice on ‘most appropriate toys’ to borrow.

Who can access the service?

Those identified as being hard to reach or vulnerable can be referred or self-refer for support from the outreach workers. Some of our families have very complex needs but others just need a little support to be able to become part of their local community, this support is very early intervention which stops families needing a lot of support which can be very expensive and time consuming later on.

Any parent or carer with a child from pre-birth to attending school can attend a community Toy Library session. Our eligibility criteria is very simple, we take referrals from professionals and families as we recognise that what can seem like a very small issue and may not meet certain criteria for some services is often something we can give advice and support for a very short term alleviating other issues arising for the family. Through this universal method we have been able to work with families that have self-referred, which has led to a more targeted approach due to the family’s needs.

What do you expect children, young people and their families to gain from using your service?

We aim to bring local communities together so parents, carers and children can support one another and build friendships. Resources and advice to support child development will be available to parents and carers to borrow to continue play and development within the home, improving outcomes for children. Those needing additional support will be identified and offered the appropriate support, guidance and signposting to other services as required. Our outreach team will recognise that everyone’s level of support will be different so will not be time based, but for as long as is needed.

How and who to make a complaint to:

In the first Instance Karen Drayton and then to the board of trustee/directors at Connors Toy Libraries.

Contact details

Karen Drayton
Phone: 023 9283 2926
Email: toylibrary@ctlib.org.uk
Website: www.ctlib.org.uk