Gwynedd Cabinet Member Ignores Yet Another Arrest Of School Staff - And Canolfan Brynffynnon.

Cyngor Gwynedd held a full council meeting on Thursday, 24th September 2026.

Questions were asked by councillors, that included concerns of drones at Llanbedr airfield.
The questions are asked in advance, vetted by the monitoring officer, then a written reply by the relevant member of the Plaid controlled cabinet is included in the agenda for the meeting.

Is it all scripted..?
The questions are then asked at the meeting and cabinet members recite the prepared answers.
A supplementary question is allowed.  
Not all councillors bother with a supplementary - for some that do, it is noticed that cabinet members know what the question is before it is even asked... 

The Scrutiny Annual Report 25/26 was presented by councillor, Cai Larsen, chair of the Scrutiny Forum, with Ian Jones, Head of Democracy Services (Head of Corporate Services) named as the contact officer...  
To ensure that scrutiny arrangements are effective, members across the political groups work as a team to investigate concerns about the quality of services; acting as a Critical Friend ensuring that proper attention is given to the citizen's voice; identifying good practice and weaknesses and holding the Cabinet and its members to account.

Smoke and mirrors..?
For many years now, complaints regarding abuse in Gwynedd have been nodded through by councillors instead of proper scrutiny or investigation.
 
Larsen himself sat on a committee that did nothing to hold Neil Foden to account, when a video of the head teacher physically assaulting a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, was reported in the media and discussed at the committee.
 
Ian Jones, the head of corporate services, has included a social services complaint in one of his past documents. This, some believe, was to avoid the care scrutiny committee - and a serious matter was simply passed through by cabinet members without proper discussion. 

Dewi Jones, the cabinet member for Education, presented the -
Strategic Safeguarding Panel's Annual Report 2025/26 which can be found in the agenda pack for the meeting - 
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g6853/Public%20reports%20pack%2024thSep-2026%2013.30%20The%20Council.pdf?T=10 

His presentation to the full council was weak and he made no mention of yet another arrest of a school staff member just before the summer holidays.   How many arrests of school staff (past and present) have there now been since Neil Foden?  Seven? More..? Jones instead mainly focussed on pupils absent from school. There are those parents who home educate due to a failure to adequately support their children in school, some electively, some not. Not long ago there were issues with children being suspended, excluded and even off rolled by some schools - is this still the case?  Many of these children have ALN.... In some cases children are not popular with staff and this can become a problem for the child, this is not something that ever comes up for discussion though. Instead of acknowledging the pressures these children face with bullying and lack of understanding by some teachers, Jones wishes for more powers to punish the parents.  Where is the voice of the child? Has Jones spoken to the children and parents/carers of these particular cohorts?  If not - why not..?  The curriculum is also a concern for some parents. Dewi Jones. made no mention of the abuse of children at Canolfan Brynffynnon in Y Felinheli. The children who attended this unit had ALN. A recent documentary of the PRU by Y Byd ar Bedwar can be found here -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgMHbCNY0Yc One councillor did raise concerns and in response, Jones did promise to include Brynffynnon in next year's report... A reminder that three staff members were suspended for 9 years, two have been given redundancy packages and one has recently been reinstated by cyngor Gwynedd. The webcast of the full council meeting can be found here -  https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1129335 The Governance And Audit Committee of 29th September, 2026 10.00 am The Governance and Audit committee is one of the most important of all meetings, yet is not webcast so not available for later viewing by councillors or the public.  Members of the committee had been given a Briefing Note by Iwan Evans, the monitoring officer.  He directed lay members and councillors not to raise employment issues. This likely relates to Marian Parry Hughes and Dafydd Paul, who have been 'absent from work' on full pay since the spring of 2025... Evans was challenged over this note and he floundered in his response but technical difficulties meant he could not be properly heard and the meeting was suspended whilst officer's tried to sort out the problem,  This was not possible and the meeting was eventually deferred. The reports that should have been discussed at the G&A meeting can be found in the agenda pack for the Education and Economy meeting to be held on the 8th, October -  https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5777/Public%20reports%20pack%2008th-Oct-2026%2010.30%20Education%20and%20Economy%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10 Councillors could be asking Dafydd Gibbard, CEO and the legal team to - * Commission an independent investigation into Canolfan Brynffynnon. * Publish the Woods report that looked at the failings of council officers re Neil Foden. * Ask how many Section 5 meetings there have been in regard to staff that are in a position of trust since Foden's arrest?   * Ask if the senior legal officer who sat in on the meeting in 2019, when the concerns of the whistleblower re Foden were discussed and downgraded from a safeguarding concern to a professional issue only, is still in post?  Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...

Cyngor Gwynedd Council apologises to former pupils of Canolfan Brynffynnon who were abused...

The Ffordd Gwynedd way..?

Gwynedd Council has apologised to former pupils of the Brynffynnon Center in Felinheli, acknowledging that pupils had been abused there.

 

In an investigation into what happened following the closure of the Centre, which was an education unit for children with behavioural and emotional needs, the Y Byd ar Bedwar program reveals that Gwynedd Council's insurers have started paying compensation to former pupils.

 

Responding to the programme, Gwynedd Council said that it had come to light that pupils had been abused there, and that they 'sympathise with the victims and apologise to them.'

 

Five former pupils have received payment from the council since April 2026 after bringing legal proceedings based on their experiences at the centre.

 

Another 14 former pupils are currently in the process of claiming compensation.

These payments are made without any admission of liability.

The centre was suddenly closed in 2014. A year later, Sion Bedwyr Evans, acting head of the unit, and Garry Vaughan Roberts, a member of staff there, were accused of 49 crimes of cruelty towards children between September 2006 and March 2014.

 

Both denied the charges, with a trial scheduled for 2016.

But the case was dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service received new evidence from the police, saying there was no realistic chance of a conviction.

 

The charges came as a result of complaints from 24 pupils who spoke to North Wales Police following the closure of the Centre.

 

One of those was Dillon Roberts, a young autistic man who attended the centre between 2010-2014 when he was a child.

 

In April 2026, he received compensation of £12,000 from Gwynedd Council.

  

"There was one time when I was dragged into the headmaster's office. One of the teachers grabbed me, and the headmaster had a strimmer. He grabbed me by my head and my neck. The strimmer was also running. I thought I was going to die," he said.

 

According to Dillon, during his interview with North Wales Police, he mentioned another alleged abuse:

"When I was in the kitchen, the teachers put salt in your drink. They were bullies."

 

As part of Dillon's case against Gwynedd Council, he said:

"I was abused by Mr. Roberts because of my size. Because I was too big, I had 'breasts', and Mr. Roberts would scoop them up and squeeze them. This used to hurt me and it made me feel ashamed."

 

Dillon also claims that staff at the centre bribe and threaten children:

 

"I remember on a Friday, we were going to (one of the teachers') office to get irons and brass, and he had a bag already - a load of pound pieces.

"They were just saying, 'Don't go to your mother or father, or, if you go to them, we'll kill them.' I was afraid to go there every day."

 

In 2017, a year after the case was dropped, Dillon's parents received a letter from Gwynedd Council's Children and Family Support Department.

 

The letter acknowledged that some of the accusations made by some of the children had been confirmed, recommending that the Council, as the body that employed the staff of the Brynffynnon Centre, conduct its own investigation into the matter.

 

Katherine Yates is a lawyer who is well known for representing some of the victims of the paedophile Neil Foden in their cases against Gwynedd Council.

 

In August 2024, the grandfather of one of Brynffynnon's former pupils contacted her to ask for help. Now, over 20 parents and former pupils have come together to start bringing legal proceedings against Gwynedd Council.

 

Katherine Yates said: “I was amazed at how quickly people came forward.

 

"And what was amazing was the nature of the allegations, and how similar they were from different people - some of these children didn't know each other, they weren't even at school at the same time - and yet the allegations are all similar."

 

There are allegations from some former pupils of Brynffynnon Center and their parents regarding physical and emotional abuse.

 

"Most of the children complain of being placed in tires up to their necks and having balls kicked at their heads. There are many examples where children have been forced to fight each other just for the amusement of the staff. There are examples of children being forced to eat."

 

Y Byd ar Bedwar has spoken to several parents who have brought legal proceedings against Gwynedd Council as a result of their children's experience at Brynffynnon Centre, revealing that two former pupils received compensation in 2019.

 

The parents of one of the former pupils who have received compensation say they raised concerns with Gwynedd Council in 2010 - four years before Brynffynnon closed.

 

"The parents were complaining, a lot of them. But nothing was happening."

 

Google translated - 

https://newyddion.s4c.cymru/article/cyngor-gwynedd-ymddiheuro-gyn-ddisgyblion-canolfan-brynffynnon-gafodd-cam-drin

 

Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyngor Gwynedd - Canolfan Brynnfynnon - Open The Box...

Canolfan Brynnfynnon.
Staff suspended for 9 years.

Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...

Outdated Laws, Canolfan Brynffynnon And An Interim Head Of SS - Cyngor Gwynedd.

In April, 2019, after a whistleblower raised concerns re Neil Foden, the head of children and families SS sent an email to Gwynedd's LADO requesting a meeting -
'Mater Diogelu Brys- Cyfrinachol’ (Urgent Safeguarding matter – Confidential)
 
But with a senior officer of cyngor Gwynedd's legal team present, the safeguarding meeting became one of a 'professional issue' only.
Who made the decision to ignore the safety of children - and why?

Is the answer to be found in the Canolfan Brynffynnon affair?

In 2016, the trial of two staff members at the pupil referral unit (PRU) in Felinheli, was halted after the CPS received new information...

In September, 2016, councillors of the services scrutiny committee did mention Brynffynnon when discussing the report -
GWYNEDD COUNCIL PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW 2015-16 -
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AND CARE
Cabinet Members: Cllrs. Mair Rowlands, Gareth Roberts, Gareth Thomas

The agenda pack for that meeting can be found here -  
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/documents/g1706/Public%20reports%20pack%2027th-Sep-2016%2010.00%20Services%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10 

A wall of silence...
No statement has been made by cyngor Gwynedd in a case that led to three staff members being suspended on full pay for approx 9 years. 
The council did not answer a FOI request on the length of suspensions and the monitoring officer ignored the request for an internal review.

The council also paid NWP £800,000 after the collapse of the trial...

Sshhh...
Why has no councillor called for an investigation..? 

It is believed Marian Parry Hughes and Dafydd Paul were the senior officers at this time. 
Who interviewed the children? 
Who gathered their evidence? 

Who else would have known?
Dilwyn Williams, who was then ceo of cyngor Gwynedd?
The director of SS at that time, Morwena Edwards?
Dyfed Edwards, who was the then leader of the council - and is now chair of BCUHB?
The monitoring officer?

In 2022, a final investigation report into Canolfan Brynffynnon, was received by the council.
Shortly after, Morwena Edwards, left her position.

The previous year, notable departures from the council included the ceo, along with the head of finance and a senior officer from the legal department. 

Once bitten twice shy... 
Were mistakes made in the handling of the Brynffynnon case possibly instrumental in officers failing to take action in regard to Neil Foden?

Evidence appears to have been an issue in both cases in one way or another - that, and the assessment of risk and thresholds. 

Paul was also senior complaints officer for the children's SS when officers raised a complaint on behalf of a resident - without the resident's knowledge - so the council could 'investigate' a data breach that had already been investigated and upheld by an independent investigator. 

This led to the manager of the Gwynedd information team producing a report that then vindicated the children's department. It was only after a second meeting with the manager that her report acknowledged the data breach of children's information. It took Parry three attempts before she finally took note of the evidence...

Both Hughes and Paul have been 'absent from work' for the last year after the council received a report by the barrister, Genevieve Woods, who investigated their roles in the Neil Foden case. (This report has still not been published)

It is well known that abuse continues when a system rewards silence and cover up...

In other news -  
Essie Ahari, former chair of governors at Ysgol Friars, has retired from north Wales police.

Cyngor Gwynedd are to appoint a new interim head of the children's SS.
The position advertised internally was needed as - 
'...a responsible and accountable Head was needed to lead; with the appointment of an interim Head, this
would allow for other vacancies within the Department to be filled retrospectively and the establishment of a robust structure for the service''

This would have been ratified at the chief officers appointment committee on March, 25th.
Cyngor Gwynedd have not yet announced their decision.
Only one application was received.
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5693/Public%20reports%20pack%2025th-Mar-2026%2010.00%20Chief%20Officers%20Appointments%20Committee.pdf?T=10

Legislation and Law not updated in 16 years...
Cyngor Gwynedd's Private Rented Sector Housing Enforcement Policy is to be updated as it was revealed that the original policy created in 2010 is still in use - despite much new legislation coming into force over the last 16 years including for HMO's...

Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...

 

 

 

 

 

Cyngor Gwynedd Council - We Need To Talk About Canolfan Brynffynnon...

Canolfan Brynffynnon, the pupil referral unit in Y Felinheli, closed by cyngor Gwynedd council in 2014, is being investigated by Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors -
https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/25090281.gwynedd-referral-unit-pupils-saw-staff-bullying-children/

Canolfan Brynffynnon made the news in 2014, when two staff members were arrested on allegations of cruelty.
A third officer was later suspended as, it is believed, they were the most senior member present on the day one incident was meant to have occurred.  

In 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service, after receiving new information, did a deep dive of the evidence and the trial was stopped.
What was that new information and who supplied it?

Though the CPS dropped the case, cyngor Gwynedd did not reinstate the staff.
Instead the suspensions continued on full pay - for years.
If there was evidence of mistreatment, why were the officers not sacked in 2016?
A criminal conviction would not be needed in cases such as this - as long as the evidence was strong.

Two employees have now received redundancy packages.
How much have these packages cost and were non disclosure agreements attached?
A reminder that NDA's may not be legally binding if they are imposed to cover illegality and/or undermine public interest...

The third employee has recently been reinstated after taking the council to Employment Tribunal.
Gwynedd council acted before the case was heard in court.

So what could have been presented to the tribunal?  
An allegation of a malicious complaint?
Were there botched interviews?
Was there a failure to adhere to procedures?
Was a social worker meant to be supporting a family whilst actively working against them?

It can be presumed that whatever came out at tribunal would be highly embarrassing for cyngor Gwynedd and their safeguarding officers - especially at this time with the Jan Pickles review ongoing.

Cyngor Gwynedd is again asking for the public to contact social services and the police with information re child abuse. In this instance, it may be better to contact Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors directly -
https://www.andrewgroveandco.com/contact-us

Something is very, very wrong within Gwynedd council... 

 

 

Why Wasn't Neil Foden Stopped? Cyngor Gwynedd Council

Why wasn't Neil Foden stopped...? Cyngor Gwynedd council

Earlier this year, Gwynedd council's children and family department reported that complaints of a historic nature had been received dating back to 2013. No action was taken by social workers of the Arfon team. When the report was presented to the Care Scrutiny Committee not one councillor commented or even asked about their welfare. Shameful...

Controversy has plagued Gwynedd council ever since its creation in 1996 after the North Wales abuse scandal. Concerns about its councillors have been raised in Parliament, too. More recently, the Ombudsman for Wales has found them guilty of maladministration - on several occasions.

In 2014, the safeguarding team along with officers from the education department and North Wales police began an investigation into a complaint of alleged cruelty against children at Canolfan Brynffynnon in Y Felinheli. The pupil referral unit (PRU) catered for children with behavourial issues and others who did not cope well in mainstream schools including those with disabilities. Two members of staff were arrested and suspended by the council.

It is believed that a few weeks later, a third member of staff was suspended after a separate incident was reported. It is claimed this staff member was interviewed by police who decided there was no case to answer.  

The initial allegation of cruelty has always been disputed and the case was dropped in 2016 after the Criminal Prosecution Service received new information from the police. This 'new information' has never been made public. 

This case is troubling on many levels. There has been speculation asking if the investigating officers followed law and official procedures when interviewing the children? Or did the investigation begin from a malicious allegation and then evidence gathered to support the initial complaint?

Wasn't Liz Saville Roberts, now MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, the Cabinet member for Education at this time? Perhaps she could throw some light on this case and put an end to the speculation?

Over £800,000 was paid to NWP by the council and then there is the cost of those suspended on full pay, plus the cost to the council conducting their own investigation(s) into the matter. A reminder that Gwynedd council have a history of interference in investigations and writing reports in spite of the evidence. 

Did the actions of the safeguarding team in 2014 make them reluctant to take on Neil Foden?  Or, as some have suggested, was he protected because of his paygrade?

The Foden case is a can of worms for senior officers within safeguarding, education and NWP. It is no surprise that senior officers wish for a review of safeguarding only - which will be so limited that it will be worthless.

Six months before Foden's arrest, Geraint Owen, executive of the council and councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, leader of the council presented the Ffordd Gwynedd Plan to the Cabinet. It talked of a change of culture and mindset within the council -
…This is all rooted in a change of culture, behaviours and mind-set and its aim of realising the ambition across all parts of the Council’s activities is acknowledged as a substantial challenge and one which requires a comprehensive programme of support…
Also -
Acting on the basis of evidence, rather than on the basis of what appears to be logical, is one of the cornerstones of the “way of working”and here there is an important function to ensure that managers and their teams use the information and data available to its full potential. 

The executive officers and many senior officers have worked for the council for 20 years plus. Are they responsible for the culture and mindset? To outsiders, the culture and mindset could be read as nepotism, bullying and collusion in cover up of bad decision making and even worse behaviours.

Then there is the Education Workplace Council investigation which found Foden guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. This alone should have been the end of him. What action, if any, was taken by the council and school governors at Ysgol Friars?

In early, 2022, a video was released online showing Foden appearing to grab a pupil by the scruff of the neck at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, in Penygroes. What action, if any, was taken by the council and school governors at Dyffryn Nantlle?

This video was discussed by the Education and Economy Committee but no action appeared to have been taken by the then head of education, Garem Jackson,, nor the former Cabinet member for Education, Cemlyn Williams, at that time. It is believed that Elin Walker Jones, now Cabinet member for children was a member of this committee. Her knowledge of what the council knew of Neil Foden and the discussions that took place would be invaluable.

Something is so very, very wrong within Gwynedd council...