Ealing

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.

All of the borough's town centres benefit from an excellent mix of local and independent shops, as well as national high street brands. Ealing is also home to a wide variety of food options, with hundreds of restaurants, bars, and cafes. Ealing was built for socialising and getting fresh air outdoors, and we have more than 100 beautiful parks and green spaces where 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.  In fitting 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; recent Ofsted 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. We are now exploring how to develop them 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 challenged us but has resulted in rich conversations that are bringing about positive change in how we work and how we see ourselves. 

We recognise that to recruit and retain the very best social workers and social care practitioners, we need to bring together all our learning and development opportunities into one place. That’s why we have launched the Ealing Social Care Academy. The academy helps our team connect, collaborate, and engage creatively with internal and external partners and service users.

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 schools that are among the best in London. 98% have Ofsted ratings of Good or Outstanding, and we are consistently among the top performing boroughs in London. In some aspects, for example progress in Maths at KS4, Ealing is the top performing local authority in the entire country.

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 helps us to continually improve our offer. We are alert to the pressures many of our families are facing and work creatively with families and partners to bring about positive 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. 

Watch our film to hear about Ealing staff telling their career stories

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:

Hasna Siddika, Principal Social Worker; SiddikaHa@ealing.gov.uk