Adopt London West (ALW) Regional Adoption Agency is a partnership service comprising the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham and Hounslow and hosted by the London Borough of Ealing.
Every child has the right to a safe and supportive family life. ALW aspires to promote best practice across its adoption and special guardianship support services to children and their families, birth parents and adopted adults. The practice model and principles of our host Local Authority, Ealing, have been incorporated into our approach in ALW. The Brighter Futures practice model is informed by our values and brings together key ideas from relationship and trauma-informed research, theory and practice.
We have a strong focus on relationships and purposeful partnership in our work. We aim to build empathic, respectful, and trusting relationships with each other and with adopters and special guardians to ensure they are well supported for the challenges of caring for children who have experienced trauma and understand the need to parent therapeutically.
An exciting 17.5hrs/week opportunity has arisen for a social worker in our Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Team on a fixed-term contract basis until 31 March 2025, with the possibility of an extension.
The support service in ALW is passionate about providing timely and bespoke support to our growing body of adopters and special guardians. This includes the delivery of Foundations for Attachment training to adopters and special guardians, support via our education support groups, webinars, social events and a special guardians’ support group, co-facilitated by a special guardian. The support service is also responsible for support to birth relatives and the role involves supervising and supporting workers who facilitate post placement contact. The service also supports adopted adults in accessing their adoption records.
We are seeking someone with experience of adoption and special guardianship support and the potential complex dynamics in these arrangements. Part of the role involves working directly with families. Additionally, you will need to be committed to innovative practice and take a lead in developing the provision of high-quality support services to ensure the best possible outcomes for children and their families.
You will hold a social work qualification and be Social Work England registered.
More than 360,000 people call Ealing home. Our seven towns - Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell Northolt, Perivale and Southall - are diverse, vibrant and lively communities where over 170 languages are spoken. We will enable you to do the work you care deeply about, and our aim is to deliver the infrastructure that allows that to happen.
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.
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.
Watch our film to hear about Ealing staff telling their career stories
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
If you want to find out about this opportunity, please contact our Recruitment lead, Caroline Horsley at: HorsleyC@ealing.gov.uk