Child Protection Policy
Marlborough District Council has a Child Protection Policy in place. This policy is made under the Vulnerable Children’s Act 2014.
For the purposes of this policy, a child is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years, not married or in a civil union.
Council commits to supporting statutory agencies tasked to protect children. These include the Ministry for Vulnerable Children and the New Zealand Police.
As part of this, Marlborough District Libraries aims to ensure the wellbeing and safety of children who visit the library.
We have child protection procedures that provide guidance to library staff on how to identify and respond to concerns about the wellbeing of a child, including possible abuse or neglect.
The council Child Protection Policy, and the library procedures, apply to all library staff that have dealings with children, including volunteers and part-time or temporary roles and contractors.
The policy and procedures are intended to protect all children that staff encounter; the children of adults accessing services, and any other children encountered by staff as they provide their service.
All library staff are expected to be familiar with this policy and the library procedure and to abide by it.
Confidentiality and information sharing
All staff must act within the legal requirements when it comes to sharing information or concerns about children, such as the Privacy Act; the Children; Young Person’s and their Families Act, the Health Information Act and other statutes.
If you have any questions about our Child Protection Policy, speak to the District Libraries Manager.
If you have concerns about a child, here are some agencies you can contact directly: