140 care employers in Harrow could find you

Working in care in Harrow

Romanian, Gujarati, Tamil: do your languages count for care work in Harrow?

They count for a lot. Harrow is one of London's most mixed boroughs, and the CQC's 2024 assessment of the council names Romanian, Gujarati, Tamil, Arabic and Polish as the five main languages spoken here after English. The Romanian community has grown especially fast: census figures show residents born in Romania went from 2% of the population in 2011 to 8.1% in 2021. If you speak any of these, put them on your profile. An older person who is anxious or living with dementia often settles far more easily with someone who can talk to them in their first language.

The borough itself covers about 20 square miles of suburban streets, parks and green belt, and the people who need care are getting older. The number of residents aged 65 and over rose by 19.4% between the last two censuses. Home care agencies make up most of Harrow's care employers, with Stanmore and Pinner both having their own small clusters, so rounds tend to stay local rather than stretching across London.

Harrow Council lets people take their social care budget as a direct payment and use it to hire a personal assistant, which means one to one PA work is available here as well as agency and care home jobs. The council's guidance says a direct payment cannot be used to employ a spouse, partner or close relative living at the same address unless the council formally agrees.

For NHS comparison, Northwick Park Hospital on Watford Road, run by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, sits just over the boundary in Brent, and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital is on Brockley Hill in Stanmore. Stanmore College runs a Level 2 Certificate in Preparing to Work in Adult Social Care and a Level 3 adult diploma, while Harrow College teaches its health and social care courses in a purpose built building at Harrow Weald with its own domestic care suite.

94% of the inspected care employers in Harrow are rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC, above the 88% across London and above England as a whole (85%).