Cyngor Gwynedd council are advertising for a new head of the children's SS department.
The job is paying £84,480 - £93,163 a year, which is a lot less than the £104,15, the former head, Marian Parry Hughes was 'earning' last year. The highest-paid council employees in Gwynedd and Anglesey https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/25065053.highest-paid-council-employees-gwynedd-anglesey/
Hughes failed to act when concerns were raised against Neil Foden in 2019. The former headteacher of Ysgol Friars, in Bangor was finally arrested for sexually abusing children in September 2023.
Hughes leadership has been dogged with controversy since the farce of Canolfan Brynffynnon. Then there was the Ombudsman for Wales report highlighting the department's ignorance of law, policy and procedures. The PSOW recommendations for improvement were not acted upon...
Untrained social workers/senior officers... Dilwyn Morgan, the former cabinet member for children, did raise concerns about a lack of training within the department in 2021 - 'it would frighten you how few members of staff undertake these training.' What action did Morgan, now cabinet member for adults take..?
No outsiders allowed..? Cyngor Gwynedd are advertising the position internally, 'for a period of 6 months, with the possibility of an extension of up to 12 months...'
Does this mean that one of the interim heads of the department, Aled Gibbard or Sharron Williams Carter, is next in line to take the reins?
What next for Gwynedd's assistant head - safeguarding and quality also what next for the senior officer within the legal team? Both knew about Foden in 2019.
Something is still very wrong within Gwynedd council...
In 2017, Ysgol Friars underwent an inspection by Estyn - https://estyn.gov.wales/system/files/2020-08/Ysgol%2520Friars.pdf
In June, 2023, Estyn undertook an inspection of education services in cyngor Gwynedd - https://www.estyn.gov.wales/system/files/?file=2023-09/Inspection%20report%20Cyngor%20Gwynedd%202023_0.pdf
It's not my fault... But cyngor Gwynedd did not have an effective digital strategy at this time. Geraint Owen, the former corporate director, was responsible for the strategy and had to defend himself at one council meeting for not creating the strategy...!
Estyn's analysis of the safeguarding arrangements within cyngor Gwynedd was completely wrong...
How did Estyn get it so wrong..? Questions remain as to Estyn's diligence and methods of scrutiny.
Some clues can be found in another report dated September 2023, co-produced by Estyn, Health Inspectorate Wales and Care Inspectorate Wales after the death of Child T, from Bridgend. Rapid review of child protection arrangements
The full report can be found here - https://www.careinspectorate.wales/sites/default/files/2023-09/230928-Rapid-review-of-child-protection-arangements-en.pdf
On page 15 -
The effective child protection model incorporating the Risk Model, utilised by cyngor Gwynedd, was created by Dafydd Paul, the senior safeguarding and quality officer for the council.
In March, 2022, a project evaluation of the ECP was undertaken by Bruce Thornton, a consultant and trainer in social care. His report can be found here - https://www.effectivechildprotection.wales/sites/default/files/Effective%20Child%20Protection%20Project%20Evaluation_%20Full%20Report.pdf
Thornton writes - I was asked to examine whether child protection in Gwynedd is more effective as a consequence of adopting the Effective Child Protection model? The unequivocal answer to that question is ‘Yes’
Obviously not...
The model focuses on parents needing to change behaviours but appears not to mention the risk of abuse from those in a position of trust/authority. The last child abuse scandal in this area of north Wales involved those in a position of trust/authority over children in care...
Paul is believed to be 'absent from work' since the Spring of 2025, as is Marian Parry Hughes, the head of children's SS department. Cyngor Gwynedd refuse to confirm the identities of the officers until investigations commissioned by the HR department are complete. When will that be..?
Have the investigations looked at the role of the senior officer within the legal department who was present at the safeguarding meeting in 2019 re Foden or is it focused solely on the officers within the children's department?
A reminder that Foden physically abused boys..
It gets worse... Estyn and Care Inspectorate Wales held a Joint inspection with a focus on safeguarding in Gwynedd Council in November, 2025. That report can be found here - https://estyn.gov.wales/app/uploads/2025/12/Safeguarding-inspection-report-Gwynedd-Council-2026.pdf
On page 11 -
The 'effective child protection' model created by Dafydd Paul - in 2019 - appears to have failed in Gwynedd. Estyn and Care Inspectorate Wales chose not to name Paul, simply referring to him as a 'senior leader in the children and families department. For why?
Perhaps this report should be removed out of respect
for the children and families involved?
As an evidence base, the investigators included - • A meeting with members of the education and social care scrutiny boards. • Meetings with practitioners, staff, officers, managers, senior officers, elected members, leaders of scrutiny committees (a total of 20 meetings) • Scrutiny of sample files (24 child safeguarding cases under Section 3 and Section 5 of the Wales Safeguarding Procedures for the period between 1/09/24 and 30/09/25)
Shifting blame... Sounds great the scrutinising of sample files, some presumably written by the same officers now absent from work? BUT do they give a true representation of the facts? Some officers have history...
Where is the public inquiry? At the extraordinary council meeting, in February, Dafydd Gibbard stated that he had had a response from the government and that 'we need to share that'. Gibbard did not share the response at the meeting - so is there to be a public inquiry?
Surrey County Council has been accused of carrying out "illegal" and
"immoral" care assessments of vulnerable adults, and excluding their
families, in a bid to save money by reducing their support.
Learning disabled adults face 'dangerous' cuts to care after 'illegal assessments', claim families. https://www.itv.com/news/2026-02-12/learning-disabled-adults-face-care-cuts-after-unsafe-assessments-say-families
In response, Sinead Mooney, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said - We’ve just approved an adult social care budget increase of more than £27million.
Cyngor Gwynedd have been faking assessments on vulnerable adults and children - for years. An Ombudsman for Wales report from 2018 - https://www.lukeclements.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Ombudsman-Gwynedd-Council-report-201700388.pdf
Using a person's disability against them..?
Low hanging fruit..?
Untrained social workers sent out to remove services from vulnerable people by untrained senior social workers - simply to save money. The PSOW was so enraged it included the case in its 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
The then cabinet member for adults, Dafydd Meurig, should have presented this case to the care scrutiny committee who could have called for an investigation/review of the department. Meurig did not...
Ombudsman recommendations... This case is even more appalling when it was discovered that Gwynedd council had lied to the PSOW by saying that specific staff training had taken place when it had not.
Gwynedd council target children too... A social worker undertook an assessment on a disabled, autistic child but did not tick the disabled box. This excluded the child from support by Derwen, cyngor Gwynedd's service for disabled children. An Ombudsman's investigation found that the assessment was 'predetermined to fail'...
On the recommendation from the Ombudsman, another assessment was undertaken... This time a social worker from the 16+ team, Sharon Keys and Barry John Thomas, a social worker/complaints officer from Derwen assessed the child.
Both social workers said they knew nothing about the PSOW ordering the re-assessment and declined the report when offered it. They said they weren't looking back, but 'taking it from today'.
Incredibly, the social workers said they would not be considering the child's autism for the purpose of the assessment...
Parent bashing... It was no surprise that the second assessment also denied support for the child. Instead, the social workers used the 'assessment' to parent blame.
Complaint shut down... A stage 2 complaint was raised against the social workers assessment. It was not allowed to progress and was eventually timed out.
Protect the senior officers...? Emails indicate that the investigating officer and the independent person may have not been as 'independent' as they should.The emails also suggest that Gwynedd's senior complaints manager was more active in the 'independent' investigation than perhaps he should have been. Both Surrey and Gwynedd councils have been caught faking assessments on vulnerable people. Whilst Surrey are unlikely to be repeat offenders - Gwynedd council certainly are...
Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...
At the recent extraordinary meeting of the full council, councillors Nia Jeffreys and Olaf Cai Larsen spoke of staff feeling safe to challenge. Irony indeed - speaking to a full council meeting where councillors had been 'advised' not to challenge...
The webcast of the meeting can be found here - https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1063308
Larsen, the chair of the Plaid Cymru constituency party and Jeffreys may have missed the council's recent audit on whistleblowing. Staff do not feel safe...
It is not just staff... People who do raise concerns have been smeared by senior officers and ignored
by councillors.
Actions not words... Safeguarding, scrutiny and culture are now buzzwords for council officers/members since Neil Foden's arrest in 2023. The reality is somewhat different...
On April 11th, 2024, the children's department finally released their annual complaints handling report from 2022/23 to the care scrutiny committee.
Standards... It was the first time the SS annual complaints reports had come before a scrutiny committee since 2019, after which a complaint was made against a senior officer for misleading the committee. The same officer had refused to answer questions of the care scrutiny committee at a previous meeting.
The report can be found in the agenda pack here - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g4975/Public%20reports%20pack%2011th-Apr-2024%2010.30%20Care%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10
Page 36 mentions a historic complaint –
The Senior Manager discussed fully with the Senior Complaints Officer as ten years had passed. The social worker did not work here anymore, therefore we would need to rely on records only to investigate the complaint...
Who is the senior manager? It is believed that Dafydd Paul was the senior complaints officer at this time. Did the legal department give advice to the officer's on the matter..?
The Ffordd Gwynedd way... The PSOW can investigate historic complaints. Treating the complaint in this way may have shut down the pathway to the Ombudsman for Wales.
There was another historic complaint on page 37 –
The cabinet member for children was silent on the historic complaints and not one councillor of the committee raised concerns. The report was voted through by the committee... Shameful...
The presentation of the 2022/23 report for scrutiny had been long delayed. The report - with the historic complaints of safeguarding failures - was finally released to the committee after Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) had completed its review of the council.
Would the CIW's report been different if they had known of the historic complaints of failure to listen and safeguard these two individuals ?
Playing catch up..? 5 months later, on the 26th, September, 2024, the SS departments presented their annual complaints handling reports for 2023/24 to the care scrutiny committee. The agenda pack for the meeting and the reports can be found here - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/documents/g5188/Public%20reports%20pack%2026th-Sep-2024%2010.30%20Care%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10
The 2023/24 complaints report credits Marian Parry Hughes – Head
of Children and Supporting Families Department and Aled Davies – Head of
Adults, Health and Well-being Department as the authors.
During the meeting, Dafydd Paul, acting as the senior complaints officer and presenting the report gave the impression that he was the author of the children's report.
Darvo... Paul, did not update the committee on the investigation that had
taken place of the historic abuse from 2013/14 nor did any councillor
ask...
Instead, Paul gave a diatribe on how hard it was for the customer care team dealing with 'difficult or tiresome complainants...'
Neil Foden used the same tactic of denial and blaming others...
The committee also scrutinised this complaint from the adult's learning disability team -
Dodgy..? What was the 'relationship' between the support worker and the service user? No proper explanation was given nor asked for by councillors. Councillors passed the reports anyway...
3 months later, on the 17th, December, 2024, a cabinet meeting was held.
The 'Complaints and Service Improvement Report Quarter 1-2 2024/25' was presented. The report can be found in the agenda pack here - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/documents/g5260/Public%20reports%20pack%2017th-Dec-2024%2013.00%20The%20Cabinet.pdf?T=10
The contact officer for the report is Ian Jones, Head of Corporate Services.
For some reason, a complaint from the children's SS department was included. Neither Jones nor Menna Trenholme, the cabinet member for children, explained why the report was being presented to the cabinet rather than the care scrutiny committee...
'difficult and tiresome complainants...? So a complaint to the children's service was brought to the attention of the monitoring officer who had to remind the children and adult's SS customer care/complaint officers of the law when dealing with complaints...
Nolan Principles...
The officer's are well aware of the law, procedures and guidelines. It is a choice to ignore them and infringe on the rights of the residents of Gwynedd.
Jones, also included two complaints concerning the education department. Again, these complaints were not presented to the education/economy scrutiny committee...
The complaints in question are on page 53 and 54 of Jones' report. Three serious complaints - one a safeguarding issue - avoiding proper scrutiny.
Cabinet members should have challenged Jones' report. Instead, cabinet members voted to accept the report without real discussion...
All this has taken place after Neil Foden's arrest... Many councillors continue to turn a blind eye...
Trauma informed... For many families, seeking advice and support from Gwynedd's SS departments is traumatic - SYSTEMS GENERATED TRAUMA How disabled children and their families are traumatised by dysfunctional public services when they ask for support - https://cerebra.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Systems-Generated-Trauma-Report-web.pdf
The Cerebra report is authored by Professor Luke Clements and Dr Ana Laura Aiello. They give insight to the damage caused to children and families by the very departments that were created to support them...
Culture... Clements is a Professor of Law at Leeds University and has written an article on Gwynedd council - ‘Omg … will it never end’ https://www.lukeclements.co.uk/omg-will-it-never-end-2/
This was in respect of an Ombudsman's investigation under the last administration. He warns -
Grooming...? Some councillors and senior officer's have mentioned they were also groomed by Foden. This is disingenuous...
Cabinet members through to scrutiny
committee members – most complicit in the toxic culture that has been allowed
to continue to cover for incompetence and protect reputational damage - for years.
A public inquiry is needed. Has the Children's Commissioner for Wales, Rocío Cifuentes, been approached?
When will the monitoring officer give an account of the 'advice'
given by a senior officer within the legal department to the
safeguarding meeting re Neil Foden in 2019?
An extraordinary meeting of cyngor Gwynedd's full council was held on the 5th February, 2026.
Gwynedd councillors were shut down even before the meeting began when the monitoring officer, Iwan Evans, messaged them to 'advise' what could and could not be asked.
Was Evans protecting the legal officer who advised senior officers in 2019? From the Jan Pickles review -
LA1 Head C&FS requested a meeting on a ‘Mater Diogelu Brys- Cyfrinachol’ (Urgent Safeguarding matter - Confidential) via email to LA1 C&FS Senior Manager LADO.
On
15 April 2019 a meeting of four senior LA1 officers from LA1 Ed, LA1
C&FS and LA1 Legal departments was held to consider the information
reported by Core SMT 1 to LA1 Head of Education 1.
Any complaint against the monitoring officer is to be dealt with by Dafydd Gibbard.
This was not a meeting that the chair of the council, Ioan Thomas, would have enjoyed. Some of his decision making was poor and even a simple question such as who appointed Neil Foden as superhead to run Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle as well as Ysgol Friars was not answered...
It is understood that the appointment of a headmaster is the decision of the school's governors - https://www.ysgoldyffrynnantlle.cymru/en/governors/whos-who
The webcast of the meeting can be found here - https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1063308 As is often the case, the translated feed is not yet working...
Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...
