Hello I'm
Ben Slater
Founder and Managing Director, Nellie Supports
With over ten years of experience as a social worker, I have built England and Wales' largest specialist private social work practice, bringing together a multidisciplinary team of social workers, psychologists and SEN experts across two practices, Nellie Supports and Little Nellies. I developed The Nellie Standards and am developing TCAF, the Therapeutic Capacity Assessment Framework.
My story
Why I built Nellie Supports.
I built Nellie Supports to fix something I kept seeing on the front line.
As a social worker I kept meeting people who were stuck: waiting months for a mental capacity assessment, turned away by services that did not offer them, or paying high fees for slow private reports. I founded Nellie Supports to change that, an independent practice that delivers structured, evidence led assessments quickly and does the work properly.
What started as one social worker is now a permanent, full time multidisciplinary team working across England and Wales, alongside a second practice, Little Nellies, focused on EHCP and SEND advocacy. The same belief runs through all of it: people facing decisions about capacity, care and funding deserve clear evidence and genuine expertise, without the wait.
Leadership
Building and leading the practice.
I have grown Nellie Supports into England and Wales' largest specialist private social work practice.
It is built on a permanent, full time team rather than an associate or referral model, bringing together social workers, psychologists and SEN experts across two practices: Nellie Supports, for mental capacity, social care and care funding, and Little Nellies, for EHCP and SEND advocacy.
As Managing Director and Principal Social Worker I lead the practice's standards, quality and systems, so that every assessment and report is consistent, accountable and genuinely useful in the decisions it supports.
What drives the practice now reaches beyond our own caseload. We are working to raise standards across the field and to set a clear benchmark for rigorous, independent mental capacity and social work practice, so the people who depend on these decisions can expect more from everyone involved in them.
Our Practices
Specialist private social work practice delivering mental capacity assessments and expert reports across England and Wales.
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EHCP and SEND advocacy helping families with assessments, appeals and tribunals across England and Wales.
Shaping the field
With over ten years of experience as a registered social worker and expert witness, I bring deep expertise in mental capacity assessment, with reports relied on in the Court of Protection, the Family Court and the Court of Appeal.
I developed The Nellie Standards, a quality framework for assessment, advocacy and reporting, and I am developing TCAF, the Therapeutic Capacity Assessment Framework, a structured approach to mental capacity assessment. I host Nellie Con, feature on Nellie on the Sofa, and lecture on capacity and safeguarding practice.
Areas Of Expertise
The hands-on practice behind it.
Mental Capacity Act assessments
Decision specific capacity assessments under the MCA 2005, including COP3, testamentary, finances, litigation, care and residence.
Expert witness practice
Independent reports and evidence for the Court of Protection, the Family Court and civil matters, prepared for legal and court use.
Social care and care funding
Social care needs assessments, care planning, NHS Continuing Healthcare and care funding support.
Safeguarding and best interests
Safeguarding analysis and best interest decision making within a clear, accountable framework.
Accredited
Registrations and credentials.
Experience
Career and education.
February 2019 to present
Founder, Managing Director and Principal Social Worker
Nellie Supports Ltd, Lincolnshire
Founded and leads England and Wales' largest specialist private social work practice, and its subsidiary Little Nellies.
2016 to 2017
Social Worker
Rutland Council
Hospital discharge, social care needs assessments and care planning.
2015 to 2016
Social Worker
Lincolnshire County Council
Adult social care needs assessments under the Care Act 2014.
December 2015 to 2019
Guest Lecturer
Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education
Lectures on Safeguarding and the Care Act 2014, and Mental Health in Social Work.
March 2015 to January 2019
Independent Social Worker
B Slater Consulting, Lincoln
Adult social care assessments, capacity assessments and best interest decisions.
February 2018 to February 2019
Member of the Board of Governors
Grantham College
2011 to 2015
BSc (Hons) Social Work, First Class
University of Lincoln
Ben Slater •