More than 360,000 people call Ealing home. Our seven towns Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell Northolt, Perivale and Southall form diverse, vibrant and lively communities where over 170 languages are spoken.
We are easily reached through our many transport hubs where the Underground, National Rail and now the Elizabeth Line put us 15 minutes away from the attractions of central London.
You can benefit from an excellent mix of local and independent shops, as well as high street brands, in all of the borough's town centres. Ealing is also home to a wide variety of food offerings with hundreds of restaurants, bars and coffee houses. Ealing was built for socialising and getting fresh air outdoors and we have many beautiful parks, over a hundred green spaces in fact, in which you can enjoy nature, practice mindfulness or simply have a relaxing stroll.
We are home to several museums and galleries, a local theatre, a zoo, two community run cinemas and a new multi-screen cinema due to open soon, infitting with Ealing’s cinematic heritage – opened in 1902, Ealing Studios is the world’s oldest film studio. Ealing has the largest Sikh community in London and is home to Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, the largest Sikh temple outside India
We are a service that is always striving for excellence and our ambitious leadership team has brought about significant improvements; two recent Ofsted focussed visits have indicated that we are heading in the right direction. Our primary aim is to deliver the infrastructure that enables our staff to do the work they care deeply about.
We are proud of our Brighter Futures practice model which is one that places trusting relationships and trauma informed intervention at its core. The model has been developed and supported by our partners at Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AMBIT) and Centre for Parent and Child Support and DDP Connects UK and supported by clinical psychologists embedded in the teams.
Engaging with young people and child centred work has real meaning in Ealing, as demonstrated with our Young Person Led meetings which we use in relation to Extra-Familial Harm and which we are now exploring how to develop further. Our Annual Conference was led and facilitated by young people and a recent Care Leavers Summit saw a variety of partners come together to pledge support to this vulnerable cohort. The possibilities are exciting.
To support our workers, we have developed training on the power and use of language as well as how to record our work with the child in mind, both of which are generating a more reflective workforce.
We are progressing our work on understanding a child’s lived experience and the role identity has in this, our work on equality, diversity and identity has been challenging the service but has resulted in rich conversations that are bringing about positive change in how we work and how we see ourselves.
We have a strong training and development offer and a recent weeklong programme entitled Relationships Matter brought over a thousand people into the sessions over the week – such was the thirst for knowledge and discussion.
We benefit from having our schools being amongst the best in London, with our secondary schools’ results placing us among the top performing boroughs in London.
What Ofsted says about Ealing
Staff reported positively about working in Ealing. Managers are working hard to create a learning organisation and are receptive to feedback from children and families, staff and partner agencies about the quality of practice. There are regular opportunities for staff to engage with managers, who are visible, accessible and supportive.
Social workers spoke positively about supervision and group supervision and said that they value the opportunity to reflect on their practice and to be able to talk through concerns.
Ealing is a great place to come and develop your career. You will be supported in this by colleagues and managers who will provide you with the opportunities to grow, gain experience, confidence and become a reflective practitioner.
Ealing is a richly diverse borough and we benefit from close ties to our communities which enriches our work and continually improves our offer. We are alive to the pressures many of our families are facing and work creatively with families and partners to bring about changes which makes the work that much more energising.
More directly we can offer you:
Manageable caseloads
Clear career progression pathways
Opportunities to develop and experience different areas of work
Competitive remuneration packages
A hybrid approach to working that increases your work / life balance
We continuously look at benefits and perks we can offer and so watch this space! We are currently considering providing Social Workers with Oyster cards available for the whole of London meaning free travel all year round, every day.
If you want to find out about current opportunities at Ealing please contact our Recruitment lead, Caroline Horsley at: HorsleyC@ealing.gov.uk
Or to find out more about what it is like working in Ealing please contact either:
Carol Yates, Principal Social Worker; YatesC@ealing.gov.uk
John Churchill, Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care: ChurchillJ@ealing.gov.uk