North Wales PoliceA report into fears that were raised about a paedophile head teacher’s closeness to teenage girls before his arrest is not being made public.
Neil Foden, a “depraved, arrogant bully”, is serving 17 years for sexually abusing four young girls but there are accusations dating back four decades.
Cyngor Gwynedd commissioned a barrister-led investigation into events in 2019 when the council did not to look into concerns around Foden’s relationships with some girls.
The council said the report was not being shared with councillors or the public because it contained “sensitive and confidential information, including information about children, details about employment matters and personal data”.
BBC Wales has been told four members of staff were part of the decision not to investigate Foden in 2019 and three still work for the council.
Officers received the report’s conclusions in mid March and Newyddion S4C has seen an email sent to councillors saying the council needed “specialist legal advice… to establish what is legal to release further”.
When asked why the council’s own legal department could not handle the barrister’s conclusions, it said its main priority was the possible impact on the victims.
Foden, from Old Colwyn in Conwy county, was head teacher of Ysgol Friars in Bangor and strategic head of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle in Penygroes.
Barrister at Raymond Buildings, London, Genevieve Woods, was chosen to lead the investigation and deliver the report, stating her work would be “entirely independent”.
She looked at 2019 because, during Foden’s trial, the council’s former head of education Garem Jackson said that was when he made a senior safeguarding officer aware of concerns about Foden’s “close relationship” with some teen girls.
He said he was advised there was no need for a formal investigation as no official complaint had been made.
The judge said this was of “great concern” and possibly “encouraged” Foden to keep abusing.
Mr Jackson previously said safeguarding was a “key priority” and it was usual practice to discuss with the appropriate officer and follow their advice if any concerns were raised.
Ms Wood’s goal was to establish the facts and decide whether procedures were followed when concerns were raised about Foden, with her findings anticipated to include steps for the council to consider and whether lessons should be learned.
The council said following talks with its response programme board – set up in the wake of this abuse scandal – it was advised it should get “legal opinion from independent experts” to check what was “appropriate and legal to publish”.
It said it hoped to get this “as soon as possible”.
An objective of this response plan is to be “completely open and transparent” but some councillors, who asked not to be named, said they were worried this delay does not deliver on a promise to respond “quickly to every conclusion”.
Cardiff-based employment lawyer Owen John said many public organisations sought external legal advice for sensitive internal investigations, which could be costly.
The council said it “must act within the law when dealing with such information, including laws ensuring children’s privacy, data protection laws, and employment laws”.
As well as this report, a Child Practice Review (CPR), led by independent chairwoman Jan Pickles, was set up to establish the circumstances of what happened and prevent similar cases in the future.
This will provide an update within the next two weeks about the timescale of publication, but the BBC has been told it is expected in the summer.
The CPR said Ms Woods’ report had been shared with Ms Pickles and the reviewers and would “assist the CPR review team in relation to key events”.
Children’s commissioner for Wales Rocio Cifuentes, who has been invited to monitor the council’s progress, said she was aware of the report, but had not been given a copy of it.
She added: “By the very nature of these types of reports, we understand there would be a need to seek legal clarification about what can be published – we are reassured that a full copy of the report has been shared with the CPR team.”
