Neil Foden, a former National Union of Teachers official in Wales, arriving at Mold Crown Court. Photo Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Dale Spridgeon – Local democracy reporter
A safeguarding board has apologised to victims of paedophile headteacher Neil Foden for delays to the publication of a review into his crimes.
A report into the disgraced Gwynedd teacher is finally set to be released next week.
Foden was jailed for child sex offences for 17 years in 2024.
A report looking into his crimes was due to be released in September, but was delayed at the last minute.
The North Wales Safeguarding Board has now confirmed the Child Practice Review will be published on Tuesday, November 4.
The new date has been welcomed by Cyngor Gwynedd, although it anticipates the document will be “painful to read” and would “highlight a number of failings over several years”.
Delay
In September, the board had announced that it had had to take “the difficult decision” to delay publication of the report ‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’ to consider its legal obligations and information sharing.
In an update, the board has now stated it will be released next week, they said: “We would like to apologise again for having to delay the publication of the report and the impact this had on victims and families.”
Led by an independent Chair, Jan Pickles OBE, and two reviewers, the report aims to identify steps that can be taken by Safeguarding Board partners such as the police, local authorities, health or other bodies, to achieve improvements in multi-agency child protection practice.
Abuse
The review follows the completion of the criminal justice process into the former head’s offending.
Foden, of Old Colwyn, had been the headteacher at Ysgol Friars, Bangor, and the strategic head at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle.
He was sentenced to 17 years in prison for abusing four girls, back in July 2024.
A strategic safeguarding panel report previously presented at a Cyngor Gwynedd cabinet meeting said it was “quite likely” that other victims were abused, and that it was “clear that safeguarding systems in this case have failed over a period of several years, and that individuals have suffered”.
Cyngor Gwynedd’s leader Cllr Nia Jeffrey and its chief executive Dafydd Gibbard had also both expressed “disappointment and frustration” at the review’s unexpected delay back in September.
A spokesperson for Cyngor Gwynedd said the new date for the publication was now “welcomed”.
“Cyngor Gwynedd welcomes the fact that the North Wales Safeguarding Board has now confirmed a new date for the publication of its Child Practice Review report,” they said.
“As a Council, we anticipate the report will be painful to read and will highlight a number of failings over a period of years.
“As we have previously stated, we will welcome the report’s recommendations, and we will continue to focus all our energy on responding, improving and implementing the recommendations, in the way the people of Gwynedd would expect of us.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an
independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by
the people of Wales.
