Neil Foden Was Not The First HeadMaster To Abuse Children In Gwynedd...

Neil Foden, the paedophile head teacher, jailed for sexual assaults against children in Gwynedd, was an abusive bully and seemingly immune from censure by those who should have stopped him.

From senior police officers and councillors who sat on the board of school governors, MP's and Assembly Members, Local Authority officers and their legal team, councillors of the Education/Economy scrutiny committee, the Education Workforce Council et al...

Parents raised complaints. Local media reported on his assault on a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle. 
Nothing was done...

It was the action of a child that finally brought his reign of terror to an end. 
A child that, after blowing the whistle, had to hide in a cupboard whilst the social workers at cyngor Gwynedd waited for the correct form to be filled in before they allowed the police to be called to Ysgol Friars.

The Plaid Cymru controlled council has apologised for its failings
These inadequacies stem, in part, from recommendations not being implemented after the case of headteacher, John Owen, whose abuse of children in another part of Wales led to the Clywch Inquiry and Report.

From an article written by Gwyn Loader, Chief correspondent, Newyddion S4C -
The Our Bravery Brought Justice report into Foden's offending has an annex devoted to similarities with Owen's offending, with reviewers noting "it is appalling that the recommendations of this review reflect those of Clywch so closely and that 20 years later the key issues still have not been resolved or acted upon"...

His Honour Nicholas Cooke KC, a former Deputy High Court judge and counsel to the Clywch inquiry, called for a national audit to ensure the 2004 report and its recommendations "haven't gone to waste as it's been acquiring cobwebs".

"History keeps repeating itself," he said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3kexe2eeko

Neil Foden is not the first head teacher to be jailed for sexually abusing children in Gwynedd...
In 2025, an 87 year old former primary headmaster was arrested on historic abuse charges.

The ex teacher was jailed in 1964 for sexual offences against children at a school in Holyhead, on Anglesey, and struck off the teaching register.

In 1970, the paedophile was readmitted to the profession by the Department of Education.

In 1978, he again faced charges of indecency against children but was found not guilty by the Magistrates court in Blaenau Ffestiniog. 

The teacher was defended in court by Hugh Emlyn Hooson, QC, who was the Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire. Hooson later became Baron Hooson - 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emlyn_Hooson,_Baron_Hooson

Why this case was not heard in the Crown court is not known nor why a QC would take on a case in a Magistrates court.

This teacher taught at Gellilydan primary school in Trawsfynydd, and was then promoted to headmaster of Tanygrisiau primary school...

In 1986, he was charged with sexual offences against children, found guilty and jailed - again...

Gwynedd council held an internal review into the case which was called out as a 'whitewash' by then councillor, Wil Pierce. Frustrated by the council's behaviour, Pierce is believed to have then contacted the Ombudsman.

A reminder that this case occurred at the same time Gwynedd council suspended the social worker, Alison Taylor, who blew the whistle on the abuse of children in the region's care homes. 

For reasons unknown, the authorities are acting with no urgency in providing this now aged paedophile's victims with the justice they deserve.  If he dies, does this mean that documents relating to the safeguarding failures will not be examined in a court of law..?

In 2017, a FOI request for the number of complaints against this teacher from both parents and the general public was mishandled and refused by the council, who finally told the requestor that the council 'do not have any information relating to any complaints.'

The council was also asked for the name of all of the schools where the teacher had been employed prior to his arrest in 1986.
Gwynedd council shut this down by replying with 'The Council does hold information about the schools but this information is being withheld under section 40(2) of the Act.'

A request for an internal review was ignored by cyngor Gwynedd's monitoring officer. 

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyngor Gwynedd - Councillors Not Attending Safeguarding Training...

All officers and councillors of cyngor Gwynedd council have a responsibility to safeguard children. So it is disappointing to discover that many councillors have not been attending the safeguarding workshops arranged by the council.

The person with ultimate responsibility for safeguarding is the Director of Social Services. 
In 2019, when the teacher from Ysgol Friars raised concerns with Garem Jackson, the former head of education, regarding Neil Foden, the director was then Morwena Edwards. 

Edwards background was finance and her appointment was not universally supported. There was a belief that someone experienced in the social work field was needed to take charge of a service still recovering from the previous child abuse scandal.

The toxic culture under the former director, Lucille Hughes, did not disappear with her quitting the council. The social worker, Alison Taylor, who whistleblew on the abuse  -

Speaking later she said that Gwynedd County Council would not admit to having a problem. A wide-ranging report later described a “cult of silence” that had covered up the scandal...

The final straw came when a young boy in her care died, after a colleague sent him to a B&B to fend for himself.
Speaking sometime later, she described a chaotically run service, adding what she had seen and heard was only the tip of an iceberg.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gordon-anglesea-files-4-cult-12112990

In 2014, a new CEO was appointed. Dilwyn O Williams background was also finance and had worked for the council for many years even before the name change in 1996.

Also in 2014, arrests were made at Canolfan Brynffynnon after allegations of child cruelty. The case was dropped in 2016 after new evidence came to light and the CPS performed a deep dive of the evidence.

Despite claims of a malicious allegation, Gwynedd council remain silent on the affair and has even refused to answer a FOI request concerning the length of staff suspensions. An internal review was granted by the council's information office but the monitoring officer has failed (to date) to respond despite reminders from officers.

Then there were the multiple investigations by the Ombudsman for Wales finding against Gwynedd council and the SS departments in particular. One concluded that a care assessment for a child was predetermined to fail. A fake assessment undertaken simply to tick a box in an attempt to negate their duties. There are allegations that other 'assessments' undertaken by social workers were also predetermined to fail...

There was the case of the autistic adult stripped of support in a council care home. His treatment by the SS department was so bad it even made the Ombudsman's hall of shame casebook on human rights -
https://www.ombudsman.wales/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/104483-Equality-and-Human-Rights-Casebook_Eng_v03.pdf

For the Ombudsman to be approached, all of these families must first endure the SS complaints procedures. A Stage 1 complaint will usually mean meeting customer care officers with perhaps a senior manager present at the council offices. Such meetings are usually formal and can be intimidating. The senior complaints officer for the childrens department recently reported that more people asked for their complaint to be raised to a Stage 2 straight away. Past complainants can understand why...

The senior complaints officer used a recent report - that he would have helped to create - to defend the complaints officers. In typical Ffordd Gwynedd fashion, others are blamed. He mentions threats of violence against staff which are to be condemned - if true...

But the Ombudsman for Wales investigations tell a different story. They show disabled children denied their rights under law and families simply trying their best for their kids. One investigation shows senior officers interfered in a Stage 2 investigation and bullied the investigator. Three to four pages were deleted before the director finally accepted her report. 

A professor of Law at Leeds University wrote about the case -
https://www.lukeclements.co.uk/omg-will-it-never-end-2/

A reminder that the former chief executive was made to personally apologise to one family after their treatment by the childrens department and its complaints team. Not forgetting the failure of senior officers to comply with recommendations agreed to during investigations. An opportunity to hold the council to account was lost when the PSOW failed to impose a Section 22 special report notice.

The PSOW had issued such a report to Wrexham council after their CEO failed to comply and renaged on an agreement made. The penalty for Wrexham was imposed after a council tax demand was sent to a resident in english only. The PSOW acted after errors in communication were repeated.
https://www.ombudsman.wales/wrexham-county-borough-council-201708129/

Williams reported that the Ombudsman was outraged with Gwynedd council - (that would be the SS departments and their complaint officers in particular). Williams also claimed that all recommendations of the Ombudsman had been complied with 'bar a nuance'. This was not correct...

Even more evidence of misdirection by senior officers was revealed via an FOI request to the PSOW. All this resulted in the PSOW summoning Williams to Cardiff for a meeting that was described by the Ombudsman's office as 'not usual'.

A reminder that the PSOW changed its policies after its dealings with Gwynedd council and now require all councils to provide robust evidence of compliance with its recommendations.

All this at the same time the teacher from Ysgol Friars raised concerns about Neil Foden...
Then the pandemic hit...

Still under William's leadership, Gwynedd council received £55 million from Welsh Government to distribute to businesses in the county under the Covid-19 fund.

Then there was the council's partygate affair where an entire department had to self isolate after a staff night out. 

Followed by GwE and the inflated expenses scandal. As CEO, Williams should have called for an official investigation into the matter. He did not...

Willams then retired from the council in 2021 -
https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/19011692.gwynedd-council-chief-executive-announces-will-step-spring/

The Head of Finance also left the council.

A few months later, the council received a final report concerning Canolfan Brynffynnon.

Morwena Edwards, director of SS, then quit the council.

During this time, the person with a legal responsibility for social services complaint handling was the Monitoring Officer. Gwynedd council recently changed the Constitution and that legal responsibility now lies with Ian Jones, the head of democratic services...

It is believed Gwynedd council have now employed a barrister to look into events of 2019 when Garem Jackson was first contacted by the whistleblower regarding Neil Foden. The council has yet to release the name of the safeguarding officer whose advice Jackson acted upon...

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...

Cyngor Gwynedd Councillors Silent On Historic Complaints...

The Care Scrutiny Committee of Cyngor Gwynedd council received the SS annual complaints handling report last week. It is the first time the complaints report has come before scrutiny since 2019, after which the senior complaints manager was called out for misleading the committee.

One councillor mentioned he had made a complaint against social services during the pandemic and expressed his discontent with the process and urged the department to take complaints more seriously. He mentioned that the response to his Stage 2 complaint seemed to be to defend the service.

Historic complaints were reported...
As the report was written last year, but only just released, it can be presumed that these complaints stem from 2013. The scant detail given of the historic complaints against the Arfon children's team is concerning. Were the young people in care at the time? Was the safeguarding team informed?

Not one councillor of Gwynedd's Care Scrutiny Committee asked a question in relation to the two historic complaints mentioned in the SS departments report... 

People will remember the north Wales abuse scandal of the 70's through to the 1990's.
Gwynedd council sacked Alison Taylor, the social worker who blew the whistle on the abuse.,,

The scrutiny committee meeting of the 11th April was webcast and a recording can be found here -
https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/873653

The SS report states that one historic complaint can not be investigated as the social worker has left the council. This may be true but Gwynedd council has in a previous investigation, told an independent investigator that one employee could not be questioned as the officer had left the council. This officer returned to the council after the investigator had concluded her interviews with witnesses. 

In another case, the council informed investigating officers that an officer could not be questioned as they were on long term sick. Once that investigation was concluded, the officer returned to work, this time for Anglesey council...

The senior officers have also been called out for interfering in an 'independent investigation' by the Ombudsman for Wales. The investigator reported feeling bullied and overwhelmed by senior officers at a meeting held to discuss her initial report. 

Marian Parry Hughes and Aled Gibbard were the most senior officers present at this meeting alongside the social worker complained about for undertaking a fake assessment on a child. The social worker was also called out for sending what the parents called a malicious email designed, it was claimed, to cause trouble for them - this was denied...

The investigator's initial report upheld all complaints...
After this meeting, and a final third revision, this was no longer the case and only then was the report accepted by the Director of SS.
Are investigators only paid when their reports are accepted by senior officers..?

Gwynedd council's SS complaints handling has been shocking and for those who have endured the process, it appears the system has been used defensively and to protect reputational damage...

One serious complaint against an officer was downgraded to an enquiry by the former Director. Downgrading complaints means that the details are not recorded so avoiding scrutiny.
Are there more such cases?

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...