Neil Foden - Public Inquiry Needed? Gwynedd Council.

Neil Foden The abuse of children in Gwynedd has been going on for decades...

In 2012, Theresa May, then Home Secretary, gave a statement to the House of Commons with regard to historic allegations of child abuse in the region. Excerpts include - In 1995, the then Secretary of States for Wales, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Wokingham, appointed a QC to examine all the relevant documents and recommend whether there should be a public inquiry.  The recommendation was that there should not be a public inquiry but an examination of the work of private care homes and the social service departments in Gwynedd and Clwyd Councils

The recommendation not to hold a statutory public inquiry was a mistake. 'Examinations' and reviews of those responsible for the failings are heavily reliant on the evidence of those responsible for the failings and therein lies the problem.

The former Prime Minister continued - The Waterhouse Inquiry sat for 203 days and heard evidence from more than 650 people.  Statements made to the Inquiry named more than eighty people as child abusers, many of whom were care workers or teachers. 

In 2000, the Inquiry’s report, ‘Lost in Care’, made 72 recommendations for changes to the way in which children in care were protected by councils, social services and the police.  And following the report’s publication, 140 compensation claims were settled on behalf of the victims. Theresa May's full statement can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/historic-allegations-of-child-abuse-in-north-wales-home-secretarys-statement-to-the-house-of-commons

According to a SS complaints handling report published earlier this year by Marian Parry Hughes, two children raised concerns with social workers from the Arfon team, in 2013. One historic complaint concerned a social worker who did not take action to keep her safe. Safe from whom?

Hughes gives even less information of the second historic complaint and claims the young person mentioned 'compensation' thus shutting down any investigation.

Since May's statement in 2012, many problems within schools in Gwynedd have been reported...

Teenage boy rapes female classmate shortly after sex education lesson - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/teenage-boy-rapes-female-classmate-shortly-after-sex-education-lesson-9880277.html Gwynedd schoolgirl, 14, left 'petrified' by bullies 'threatening to kill her', she claims - https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gwynedd-schoolgirl-14-left-petrified-25241053

Pervert Gwynedd teacher brothers leave their jobs after downloading child porn - https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pervert-gwynedd-teacher-brothers-leave-11587972

There are other examples...It can be presumed that not all incidents are reported by the press...

Then there was the findings of the Everyone's Invited website - set up for children to report sexual harassment from other pupils in schools. Neil Foden, himself, commented on the findings - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58721707

In response to these findings, Gwynedd Education and Economy committee discussed a report on the 8th, February,2022, from Delyth Lloyd Griffiths, Senior Officer for Safeguarding Children - The report responds to information that became apparent in 2021 when information on pupil sexual harassment was seen on the “Everybody’s Invited” website. The report can be found here - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/documents/s32890/Item%206b%20-%20Sexual%20harassment%20in%20schools.pdf

The Cabinet Member for Education was then Cemlyn Rees Williams. It was at this time, that a video had emerged of Neil Foden, grabbing a pupil by the scruff of the neck. The Education and Economy committee knew of this video but failed to ensure the Cabinet member and the former Head of Education acted on the alleged assault.

Neil Foden was an abusive bully whose position as headmaster and as an executive member of the NEU trade union made him untouchable. The same could be said of officers in a senior position at other organisations in the region.

To some onlookers, Gwynedd council appears to run on nepotism, bullying and a culture of 'you don't dob on me and I won't dob on you.'

Executive officers have made mention that the culture within the council must change. Does the same culture exist within Gwynedd schools..? Have school officials, governors and councillors acted when they should?

The new Head of Education has reported that police DBS checks are now taking place. 

Any review into Foden and the council's risk model of safeguarding will be a waste of time and money. The only people who will come in for criticism will be the teacher(s) who worried more for Foden than they did the children he was abusing and Garem Jackson, who has already fallen on his own sword.

Jackson - a  man promoted above his ability and, it must be remembered, acted only after seeking the advice of a cyngor Gwynedd head of safeguarding.

What is needed is a statutory public inquiry.

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...