Newham is a vibrant and developing part of East London and home to over 387,000 people, the third highest borough population in London.
We are proud to be the most diverse local authority area in the UK, with more than 100 languages spoken in our borough. Newham also has a flourishing youth population – almost a quarter of our residents are under-18.
Our Borough has benefited from the Olympic Legacy following the London 2012 Games, with regeneration continuing in the shape of new and affordable homes, high streets, businesses, and public spaces.
As well as the London Stadium (now home to West Ham United) and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (boasting the London Aquatic Centre, the AccelorMittal Orbit and award-winning parkland), Newham is also home to the ExCel Centre, London City Airport, Westfield Stratford City, and the northern bank of the Thames barrier.
Newham also enjoys excellent transport links. We’re only 15 minutes from the heart of London with the bustling hub at Stratford serving Tube and rail links in to central London and out to the east of England. London City Airport is in Newham, the Emirates Airline cable cars cross the borough, and with Crossrail we now have links even further afield.
We are determined that Newham be a place where every child and young person enjoys the best possible opportunities in life – through outstanding education; first-rate youth services; exceptional family support, and social care services that ensure no child is left behind.
Social workers are at the core of our work with children and families. Our approach is about enabling social workers to build relationships with children, young people, and their carers in order to deliver real, meaningful change for children.​
Social Work in Newham is underpinned by a culture of systemic and restorative practice with high quality relationships at the heart of our approach. We have strong links with colleagues in adult services, and other specialist services linked to children with special educational needs and disabilities.
To this end we remain committed to investing in the service structure, training, and practice programme that will ensure we deliver for children and give our staff the skills, support, and confidence to be agents of change and deliver exceptional social work and better outcomes for children.
We want Newham to be a Centre of Excellence in Children’s Social Care nationally recognised as an example of best practice:
Working to continue to grow, adapt, innovate and improve
Forging relationships with academic institutions across the UK
Partnering with local schools, colleges and organisations
Continuing to invest in workforce development and quality assurance,
Ensuring that we continue to learn from families and children
It's official - we are good!
Ofsted has rated our Children’s Services as GOOD overall, with Leadership being rated as OUTSTANDING. Read Ofsted’s published report in full here.
Our management was described as being ambitious and effective in delivering care and protection for children. Ofsted noted that we have created an environment where good social work can flourish, with manageable caseloads and a strong Social Work Academy.
Ofsted described Newham as having an improved CPD offer and a positive culture of learning and development; our expanded QA service, team of Practice Development Social Workers and our Clinical Team serve as an excellent support network for practitioners.
Our flexible approach to working has continued post pandemic, and Newham offers genuine remote working to social workers. Most practitioners work from home entirely outside of a weekly anchor day, which most find a refreshing opportunity to check in with management and colleagues face to face.
We will continue to strive for the best for our children their families as we continue on the path to making Newham a centre of excellence for children’s social care.
A rewarding role in an Ofsted rated GOOD children’s services department
Stable leadership rated by Ofsted as OUTSTANDING
The opportunity to work in a richly diverse, challenging, supportive inner London Borough
Competitive remuneration packages
Manageable caseloads + support from our clinical team and Practice Development SWs
Genuine remote and flexible working options – we know how important this is to you
Smarter Working with new modern technology
New Social Work Academy + training in Systemic practice and weekly lunchtime seminars
‘Newham Circles of Support’ - a positive, nurturing, and collaborative work environment built on trust where systemic and restorative practice will be encouraged to flourish.
Oyster card/parking permit for business use
Wellbeing service, leisure, and discount benefits (Council scheme)
Travel season ticket loan, cycle scheme, Local Authority pension
A commitment to be a ‘social work centre of excellence’
Interested in working for us? Hear from our staff below on why we think Newham is a great place to be a social worker.
For more information and detail about working in children’s services in Newham here.
If you have any questions about applying for roles within children's social care at Newham, please contact our Recruitment and Onboarding Lead Liam Barrell at liam.barrell@newham.gov.uk.
If you are interested in having an informal discussion about working in children's social care at Newham please contact:
Emma Cockerell, Director of Operations Children's Social Care and Safeguarding at emma.Cockerell@newham.gov.uk, or
Beverley Halligan, Principal Social Worker at beverley.Halligan@Newham.gov.uk