We want to ensure:
That there are suitable arrangements to respond to emergencies and that everyone knows what to do when a safeguarding emergency arises.
What does the Our Bravery Brought Justice report say?
(This is the report that was published following the North Wales Safeguarding Board's investigation into the former Headteacher's crimes (See full report (opens in new tab))
- The school, where the former Headteacher abused pupils, had no emergency plan.
- It was unclear what needed to be done as the emergency related to the Headteacher.
- The police were not called straight away when one of the school's pupils was at risk.
- The former Headteacher was not blocked from coming to school when staff found out about the crime.
What has already been done to improve things?
- A team within Cyngor Gwynedd has had a meeting to review the emergency plan.
- Conversations with key staff members to understand what went wrong on the day of the arrest and how to improve future arrangements.
- Review and strengthen of existing information sharing arrangements for safeguarding and crisis planning.
- There is an agreement to collaborate with the Police in an emergency. This can be a social worker working for the Police for a period (secondment) if necessary.
- The Council will be working with various other local services and authorities through the Regional Emergency Planning Board
- The Council has created a new Crisis Plan to help schools know what to do in an emergency. Headteachers were given the opportunity to share their views and ideas as the Plan was developed.
- Training has also been developed to help school staff understand the Plan and what they need to do in an emergency. The training will be shared with school staff from September 2026 onwards.
What will Cyngor Gwynedd have achieved by February 2027?
- Look to extent the Policy to other sites and services within the authority, for example, leisure centres.
Measuring impact
- Percentage of school staff who have received the training and say they understand the Plan and know what to do in an emergency.
- Percentage of Gwynedd schools who have adopted the Emergency Management Policy.
- Number of satisfactory inspections of emergency plans on Council sites.