Child Practice Review Outcome, November 2025

Cyngor Gwynedd's response to the 'Our Bravery Brought Justice' report

Cyngor Gwynedd has welcomed the publication of ‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’, the North Wales Safeguarding Board’s report in response to the crimes of Neil Foden.

The Council accepts all the findings of the Child Practice Review Report; takes responsibility for the failures that are highlighted; apologises unreservedly to all victims and commits to continue to work to improve safeguarding arrangements in the county's schools. 

In January 2025, in response to these crimes, Cyngor Gwynedd adopted an action plan to strengthen procedures in schools and within Council services and a Board was established to oversee this vital work.

Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Leader of Cyngor Gwynedd, said:

“This has been a shocking case that has caused so much harm to children. We are saddened by the details that have been highlighted by the independent reviewers and we take responsibility for the mistakes and missed opportunities to stop Neil Foden.

“On behalf of the Council, I apologise to all those who have suffered and pay tribute to their courage and strength.

“The task of putting the situation right locally has begun. To drive this critical work forward, we have established a Programme Board chaired by Professor Sally Holland, an authority on social care and a former Children's Commissioner for Wales.

“Child protection experts from several national organisations are also present at all Board meetings as observers, providing valuable input.

“We will go through the report with a fine-tooth comb to identify what further steps need to be taken so that mistakes are not repeated. We will not hide from our responsibility to do whatever it takes to protect children – now and into the future.”

Councillor Menna Trenholme, Cyngor Gwynedd's Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Supporting Families, said:

“I welcome the report and I state my admiration of the victims and survivors, and also thank them for their resilience.

“Following the publication of the 'Our Bravery Brought Justice' report we are committed to improving and strengthening our safeguarding arrangements for the sake of all children in Gwynedd.”

Councillor Dewi Jones, Cyngor Gwynedd's Cabinet Member for Education, said:

“We will never forget the harm and far-reaching effect that this has had on the lives of children who should have been safe at school.

“We cannot change the past, but we will continue to work with the new leadership and governors of Ysgol Friars to support the school community to cope with what has happened.

“We are committed to learning from this horrendous situation and ensuring that Gwynedd schools are safe and supportive of learners and staff. We have already made progress in this respect  and our local arrangements are much more robust than they were before the offender was arrested. 

“There is still much to be done, and we will act on all further guidance arising from the Our Bravery Brought Justice report.

“The challenge for the Education Department is to ensure that lessons are learned so that deceptive individuals can never again take advantage of weaknesses in local and national systems and protocols.”

Dafydd Gibbard, Chief Executive of Cyngor Gwynedd said:

“The responsibility for many of the failures highlighted in this report lie with Cyngor Gwynedd and we sincerely apologise to all the victims for that. We pay tribute to them for their courage and strength.

“As painful as this report is to read, we welcome it and accept all its conclusions and recommendations.

“In situations where an organisation is under scrutiny, there is sometimes a tendency to be defensive. Today, I assure you that will not be the case with Cyngor Gwynedd. We will not shirk our responsibility to do all that is needed to protect children now and into the future.”

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For more information, please contact: cyfathrebu@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Transcript of verbal statement by Dafydd Gibbard, Cyngor Gwynedd Chief Executive

The responsibility for many of the failures listed in this report lie with Cyngor Gwynedd. For this, we apologise unreservedly.

As painful as the report is to read, we welcome its contents, we accept all its conclusions and recommendations and promise that we will continue to put all our energy into responding, as the people of Gwynedd would expect of us.

Two years on from the arrest, it is also a relief to be able to speak openly about this matter.

Today, as we see all the pieces of this heartbreaking story drawn together for the first time, our thoughts must turn to those who suffered, and who survived. Children who had every right to be safe at school were betrayed. Once again, we express our respect and admiration for the courage you showed in standing up to a bully and a paedophile.

We sincerely apologise to all of you. You should not have had to suffer at the hands of a man you should have been able to trust. Your courage drives us to do better.

This report highlights the fact that opportunities were missed on far too many occasions and as one of the organisations that should have acted to prevent the offender, we failed in our response.    

A school headteacher should have put the welfare and safety of children at the top of his priorities at all times. Instead, he committed serious offences against them.

This was a man who had portrayed himself as a responsible educator on a local and national level, both within the teaching unions and in the media. But he deceived school staff, the Council and other organisations, as well as the pupils and parents who had put their trust in him.

This review gives us the clearest possible understanding of what went wrong, and what we must do to put things right. This report is a vital tool as we strive to improve.  

Professor Sally Holland, the former Children's Commissioner for Wales, who chairs the Council's Response Board, has reported that we are making progress in implementing a number of improvements. But we still have a lot of work ahead of us, and Professor Holland, and the other institutions who are represented on our Board, will continue to provide constructive challenge in a transparent manner.

Whilst we cannot undo the pain caused, we can fulfil our responsibility to implement local improvements. But ensuring other reforms will require national change.

Over the years, we have seen recommendations made by numerous Wales and UK-wide investigations, but these have not led to change.

Hopefully, the findings of this CPR will be a watershed moment in transforming the safeguarding of children in Wales. All children must be safe – wherever they live and whichever school they attend.

We are grateful to Jan Pickles and her team. Their tireless work over a twelve-month period has gone far beyond what is seen in most reviews.  

To finish, I make no apology for returning to the most important people in all of this – the children who should have been safe at their school.

The whole purpose of this report is to ensure that individuals and public organisations do everything possible to try to ensure that nobody suffers in the same way ever again. 

In situations where organisations are under intense scrutiny, there may sometimes be a tendency to be defensive. I promise today that for Cyngor Gwynedd, this will not be the case.

We will not hide from our responsibility to do whatever it takes to protect children today and into the future.

Today, with the publication of an expert independent report called “Our Bravery Brought Justice” by Jan Pickles and her team, we know of a series of opportunities that Cyngor Gwynedd missed, to stop the paedophile, Neil Foden. 

These failures had a terrible impact on the victims, and they are the ones who are at the forefront of my mind today. 

As leader of the Council, I apologise to them from the bottom of my heart. 

The Council is supposed to keep the children of Gwynedd safe, but in this case, we failed, no child in any school, anywhere, should have to suffer like this. 

I am truly sorry for what happened. 

Reading the report is difficult, many things have gone wrong. Of course, we accept the report in full and are absolutely determined to implement changes. 

We have started the work with the establishment of the Response Board and we know very well, there's a lot more to do. 

The Council will act in order to reduce the chance for any other evil person in the future to hurt children here again. Nothing is more important to me, and to everyone in Gwynedd, than making sure that our children are safe in our schools. 

I'd like to thank the reviewers for this important report, which will be implemented in full. Above all else, thank you to the survivors for their bravery and their strength.

Ysgol Friars responds to the publication of the Child Practice Review

On the day of the publication of the “Our Bravery Brought Justice” Report by the North Wales Safeguarding Board, Ysgol Friars has paid tribute to the pupils and former pupils who have suffered, apologises to them for having to endure such horrific experiences, and thank them for their courage.

The Governing Body and Leadership of Ysgol Friars fully accept the findings of the Child Practice Review. They also underline their absolute commitment to protecting and supporting all those affected by the crimes and cruel behaviour of the school’s former headteacher.

The school’s leadership and governors will continue to work closely with Cyngor Gwynedd and safeguarding partners to ensure that the lessons of this review lead to lasting change.

In a joint statement, the Chair and Interim Headteacher of Ysgol Friars said:⁠

“We are extremely grateful to the pupils, families, staff and others who contributed to this investigation. Their courage and honesty under terrible circumstances have been vital so that the authorities could understand what went wrong, how the school can move forward and how other schools can learn from what happened here.

“We appreciate how difficult this has been for them, and we admire their resilience and courage.

“We welcome that this detailed review has been carried out of organisations' procedures – including the school's – and that lessons are being learnt that will strengthen safeguarding practices across Wales.

“As a school, we will never lose sight of the horrific crimes that were committed, or the strength of those who stood up and spoke out. We remain committed to learning from these terrible events and to ensuring that Ysgol Friars is a safe and supportive environment for all young people, giving our learners the best start in life.

“We will never forget what has happened and we pay tribute to the survivors, their families and friends for their courage in standing up against these unforgivable crimes.”

The ‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’ report, which follows the Child Practice Review, is available on the North Wales Safeguarding Board website: www.BwrddDiogeluGogleddCymru.cymru

Anyone with information about crimes, whether past or present, is urged to contact North Wales Police. Reports can be made confidentially through www.heddlugogleddcymru.police.uk

Notes

The well-being of Ysgol Friars pupils and staff is the main priority for the school's leadership and governors. While recognising the understandable interest of the press in this matter, we kindly request that journalists do not come to the school gate and do not disturb pupils or school staff.

For more information, please contact: cyfathrebu@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Professor Sally Holland has responded to the publication of the ‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’ Child Practice Review report.

Professor Sally Holland said: “No child should suffer in this way. It is of particular concern that children experienced abuse in their school, where they should be safe.  I pay tribute to the survivors for taking the difficult step of coming forward, and a priority for the Response Board is ensuring that their bravery in doing so leads to meaningful changes.

“The ‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’ report lays bare the devastating consequences when systems – designed to protect children – fail to function as they should. It highlights missed opportunities and critical areas where improvement is needed.

“Work to learn lessons and improve processes is underway within Cyngor Gwynedd, and the publication of today’s report is a critical milestone. The recommendations will enable the Response Board to strengthen and add to the work programme, with an aim of ensuring a positive legacy from what has been a horrific case.

“The Response Board will continue to scrutinise, challenge and advise the Council as the authority moves forward. We will ensure that Cyngor Gwynedd is accountable to its citizens by measuring the impact of changes made and reporting transparently.

“This is vital if children and their families are to be confident that steps are being taken to learn lessons from this case.”

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Professor Sally Holland is former Children's Commissioner for Wales and a leading authority on child protection.

In March 2025, she was appointed to chair the Response Programme Board tasked with closely monitoring progress made by Cyngor Gwynedd’s Response Plan in relation to the crimes committed by Neil Foden.

The Response Programme Board comprises Cyngor Gwynedd Cabinet Members and senior officers, with the current Children’s Commissioner for Wales, representatives from the Welsh Government, the North Wales Safeguarding Board, Estyn, Social Care Inspectorate for Wales present at all meetings as active observers.

For more information, please contact: cyfathrebu@gwynedd.llyw.cymru