Mercy Community is actively committed to fostering communities of safeguarding that recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of all children and adults. Mercy Community encourages open communication whereby families and communities are informed of relevant issues and participate in decisions about the safety of children and adults. It is particularly important to Mercy Community to look for avenues to empower children and adults to have a say and be listened to.  

Mercy Community actively seeks to become and remain informed of the causes and signs of abuse and neglect. When Mercy Community receives information about concerns or witness any matter relating to abuse of a child or adult, Mercy Community responds appropriately and reports any such concerns to the appropriate authority. This includes contacting the police immediately where there may be an immediate risk of harm to any person, especially a child or at-risk adult.  

Every person within Mercy Community who comes into contact, or works, with children and at-risk adults seeks to uphold the dignity of all people and commits to establishing safe and supportive relationships. Mercy Community has documented policies and procedures to prevent risks to children and adults and build a strong culture of safeguarding. All Mercy Community People are expected to follow these policies and procedures and contribute to the culture of care and protection of all children and adults supported by Mercy Community. Mercy Community plan, organise and review all activities with children and adults, proactively considering potential risks and strive to ensure risks are reduced and eliminated where possible. Everyone is encouraged to communicate any area of concern or where you think our approach may need improvement. Anyone who brings forward a suspicion, concerns, knowledge or allegation of current or past abuse of a child or adult to Mercy Community will be responded to sensitively, respectfully, actively and in a timely manner, in line with our lawful obligations and our own Incident and Complaints Management Policies.  

We regularly undertake internal and external auditing of our safeguarding policies and practices to make sure that they always support a culture and practice that puts the safety of children and adults at the centre of our thinking and action. We listen to the voices of all people we support as we constantly strive to remain vigilant and make improvements.