Our commitment to the safety of children & young people

MCM (including The Hester Hornbrook Academy) is committed to the safety of all children and young people. As a Child Safe organisation, we value every child and young person and every decision we make is governed by our belief in their fundamental right to be protected from all forms of harm.

We believe all children, young people and students should be supported to express their views and have their views taken seriously. We commit to providing children and young people with opportunities to actively participate in decisions that affect their lives, and we support them to do so.

MCM promotes cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and provides all of the children and young people we support with the opportunity to connect with their culture and strengthen their sense of belonging and identity.

We support the rights of children and families living with disability and commit to providing opportunities for children with a disability to safely participate in their community. We commit to developing LGBTIQA+ inclusive practices across all our services and creating welcoming and inclusive environments for children, young people and their families.

MCM supports the rights and safety of children, young people and students who are unable to live at home including those in kinship care.

MCM complies with the National Child Safe Principles and the Victorian Child Safe Standards. The standards are a minimum set of requirements for organisations providing services to children and young people in Victoria. They ensure the safety of children and young people is promoted, child abuse is prevented and allegations of child abuse are properly responded to.

We have robust human resources and recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers supported by regular training and education on child safety to ensure we can fulfil this commitment. All staff and volunteers commit to the child safe principles and expectations outlined in our Code of Conduct.

MCM have clear and detailed policies and procedures about how to respond to complaints and allegations of abuse. We actively commit to reviewing policies and procedures and are working across the sector to continually strengthen our approaches and improve outcomes for children and young people.

There is zero tolerance for any form of child abuse or maltreatment within MCM. Any suspected abuse or maltreatment must be reported both internally and to external authorities including police and Child Protection. If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000.

For further information about MCM’s commitment to the safety of all children and young people, or to provide any feedback about our approach to child safety, please call 03 9977 0000 or contact us.

The National Redress Scheme

The National Redress Scheme provides acknowledgement and support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse.

It was created in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which estimated that 60,000 people experienced institutional child sexual abuse in Australia.

The Scheme started on 1 July 2018 and will run for 10 years. MCM has joined the National Redress Scheme so people can access redress.

For more information on the National Redress Scheme, visit their website or call 1800 737 377.

If you are interested in reading more, download the MCM Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy below.