Concerns with the 'briefing note', circulated to members of cyngor Gwynedd's Governance and Audit committee by the monitoring officer, were raised at the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee held on Thursday, 8th October 2026.
An objection, by councillor Richard Glyn Roberts, was raised at the G&A meeting to the propriety of this note but technical reasons meant Iwan Evans explanation could not be heard. The meeting of 29th September was paused and eventually deferred until a later date.
Councillor Roberts also sits on the Education/Economy committee and was present along with a few other councillors in the chamber, the remaining members participating via Zoom. In contrast there were 17 people sitting on the front bench, alongside the chair and Nia Jeffreys, the leader of the council.
Roberts again raised the matter of the briefing note.
Dafydd Gibbard, the CEO, responded to the councillor.
Is the HR investigation perhaps asking questions of the involvement of the legal department at this point?
Jan Pickles report does mention that a senior legal officer was present during a safeguarding meeting that discussed the whistleblower's concerns with regard to paedophile Neil Foden.
It was an odd meeting in many ways...
Officers were reluctant to give themselves praise for the safeguarding work that has been done since Foden was arrested in 2023 -
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-13591195/paedophile-head-teacher-hiding-plain-sight-abuse-girls.html
Officers informed that work is still in progress and concerns were voiced that Welsh government's guidance on LADOs did not align with the CPR recommendations, that the LADO should not act alone.
The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is responsible for managing and overseeing allegations against individuals working with children, ensuring that concerns are handled fairly and promptly. They provide guidance, coordinate responses among agencies, and monitor the investigation process without conducting investigations themselves.
The Jan Pickles report was very critical of the last LADO and his failures.
Meetings held behind closed doors and not recorded...
One councillor asked about the recording of safeguarding meetings and proper minute taking. Dylan Owen, the director of SS, reported that meetings were recorded via an AI system that presumably writes the discussion down. This is a new system and one hopes that it is being closely monitored for accuracy.
School governors also came in for criticism with the cabinet member for education stating that some governors were passive in their work and just followed what the headteacher wanted. This is unfair as most governors are ordinary people who do great work.
A reminder that Ysgol Friars board of governors included two senior police officers and at least one councillor whose background is TV and media. One ex governor of Friars is Mair Rowlands, now an MS in Welsh government.
I have no knowledge of the board of governors at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle during the headship of Foden, but he was still in post even after the video of him assaulting a pupil appeared in the media.
The education scrutiny committee itself discussed this video at the time but did nothing.
Why not?
Everyone knew Foden was an abusive bully but he was able to abuse because the culture within the council and the schools protected him from censure. New policies and procedures will not make any difference if the culture does not change.
A reminder that many of the children abused by Foden were in the care of the council...
Trauma informed or trauma induced..?
Menna Trenholme, the cabinet member for children, spoke of her work in becoming trauma informed. Trenholme may be even better informed if she read the work of Professor Luke Clements, who cites SS departments as causing trauma for many families when they seek help from the very services created to support them...
His report on Systems Generated Trauma can be found here -
https://cerebra.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Systems-Generated-Trauma-Report-web.pdf
The reports of the meeting can be found in the agenda pack here -
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5777/Public%20reports%20pack%2008th-Oct-2026%2010.30%20Education%20and%20Economy%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10
The webcast of the meeting can be found here -
https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1133653
Public inquiry now.
Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...
