A report has revealed more than 50 "missed opportunities" to stop a school head teacher’s sexual abuse of girls.

A Child Practice Review (CPR) released on Tuesday, 4 November investigated Neil Foden, 68, who was jailed for 17 years for offences involving four girls.

The report states 52 concerns about safeguarding and other issues were raised and not acted on by Gwynedd Council and other agencies as early as 2018. He was arrested in 2023.

The review was commissioned by the North Wales Safeguarding Board and can be read on the North Wales Safeguarding Board website.

Following the publication of the report, Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans said on behalf of North Wales Police: “Firstly, I would once again recognise the bravery and strength of the young people who came forward and spoke out against Neil Foden’s appalling crimes.

“Their courageous actions, throughout the criminal investigation and now this review, have no doubt prevented further victims of Foden’s abuse. They also enabled our dedicated team of officers to leave no stone unturned to ensure he faced justice for his offending.

“However, we recognise there were missed opportunities to safeguard these young people through the multi-agency safeguarding response and we apologise for this.

“It is inconceivable that these children experienced such harm at the hands of someone who should have protected and safeguarded them.

“It is clear that over many years Neil Foden manipulated systems, processes and those around him, including professionals, to facilitate his abhorrent crimes against the most vulnerable of children.

“His actions have doubtlessly resulted in a long-term impact on all those young people who witnessed and were subjected to his behaviour over a long period of time.

“Having proactively sought this Child Practice Review, we welcome its publication today and fully support the findings.

“We have played an active role in the process and are thankful to the review team for their thorough investigation.

“Despite being no specific recommendations for North Wales Police, this is an opportunity for us to enhance our multi-agency safeguarding response and therefore we are committed to working with our partners to ensure the range of recommendations are fully implemented.

“We will do everything we can to ensure the safeguarding of young people in North Wales is at the heart of our work and our paramount consideration.

“We are committed to following any further line of enquiry to shine a light on Foden’s criminality.

“I would urge anyone who experienced abuse at the hands of Neil Foden, or anyone who has wider concerns about a child’s safety to make a report to the police. We will listen to you, support you and fully investigate.”

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes said: “The report makes for harrowing reading and what is heart-breaking is not only the number of children who were abused by Foden and how long this went on for, but also the sheer number of opportunities that were missed to stop Foden’s abuse of children.

“Time and time again, children were not listened to; they were failed by people who should have acted and by institutions that should have protected them.

“Too many times, it was deemed that specific thresholds hadn’t been met to trigger effective action in response to complaints or concerns. We need to make sure that our safeguarding system enables and supports multi-agency working, professional curiosity, and that there are effective quality assurance mechanisms and a truly rights-based approach to safeguarding.

“My call on Welsh Government is to ensure the learning from this CPR, and historic ones that have touched on the same issues, are taken into account when finalising updates to the Wales Safeguarding Procedures (section five).

“Themes like poor information sharing between agencies, poor record keeping, a lack of professional curiosity, inadequate training, and incoherent multi-agency responses have been repeated themes in child practice reviews. Their consistent presence should be a source of national shame, and to avoid further repeats of these failures, this report should be a real turning point in how the child protection system functions in Wales.

“Since becoming Children’s Commissioner, I’ve repeatedly called on the Welsh Government to strengthen national safeguarding arrangements.

“To date, we have clearly failed to learn the lessons and implement the recommendations identified from previous reviews and I’m pleased my calls have been heeded by Government with its recently-announced national safeguarding review. This review must address these stubborn weaknesses and must progress with urgency.

“Actively listening is essential in a children’s rights-based approach to safeguarding. The fact the review has found that children’s experiences and points of view were not adequately considered is a huge systemic failure. Elevating children’s voices not only in national policies (which happened as a result of the Clywch Inquiry), but also in the practices of statutory bodies in Wales must be a key national priority, and an absolute minimum expectation, particularly when it comes to safeguarding issues.

“School Governors have a crucial role to play in school life: both in holding school leadership to account, and in keeping children safe. Having recently called for a review of school governance, I welcome the Welsh Government’s announcement to review the role of governors – children need and deserve strong governing bodies who properly hold their head teachers to account, and have children’s wellbeing at the heart of their mission. We know this does not always happen and relies on individuals rather than a strong system. This has to change and I would expect the learning from this CPR to be reflected and form part of the Welsh Government’s review.

“If you’re a child or young person worried about something in your school or home life that doesn’t feel right – there are people and organisations who will listen to you and help you. I have an Advice team who you can phone or email, and there are other people who can help like Childline, the NSPCC, and Meic.

“If you’re an adult working with children and you’re worried that children in your care aren’t safe, it’s vital that you raise concerns. If those are not listened to, you must contact an external organisation. My office is a prescribed whistleblower, meaning that you will be protected by law if you raise concerns about your employer.

“The report has a comprehensive set of recommendations that must now lead not only to prompt change locally in Gwynedd, but to effective national change to child protection procedures in Wales. But many of the changes and ongoing reviews will take time. In the meantime, it is vital for this report to act as a stark reminder that all professionals working with and for children have a responsibility to keep children safe – to listen to children and to report any concern.”

The critical report describes Foden as a "powerful figure" who had a "reputation as a bully".

Repeated warnings about Foden were ignored or inadequately addressed, the report adds.

The report was led by prominent expert Jan Pickles who praised the bravery Foden’s victims and said safeguarding was a "multi-agency responsibility".

Foden was headteacher at Ysgol Friars in Bangor, and strategic head of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle.

Jan Pickles, Chair of the Child Practice Review, said: “Schools should be safe places for children. As parents and carers, we put our trust in these institutions to keep our children safe. This was not the case for some children at Ysgol Friars.

“Although many staff worked very hard to educate and protect children there were major weaknesses within the safeguarding arrangements within the school, within the governors and within the local authority. These weaknesses both in the roles and structures were put in place by Foden and then cruelly exploited to allow him to harm children whenever he chose.

“Safeguarding children is a multi-agency responsibility and requires that all agencies contribute to keep children safe -to follow the agreed legislation, guidance and policies our safeguarding arrangements. Tragically, in this case those arrangements failed. A review of this nature is about learning and not blame the responsibility for the harm that was caused to these young people who were already struggling lies with Neil Foden, he targeted children he knew who were vulnerable. He isolated them from their peers from the protection of staff those staff who could and should have afforded them protection.

“Foden was a sophisticated and controlling paedophile. He created a culture which enabled his offending in plain sight, the checks and balances that we as a society expect from the safeguarding and child protection system simply were not there. Foden manipulated them to give him free reign. We know from listening to victims that speaking up calling out abuse and seeking help is for many an impossible task, that is why many victims keep these hideous secrets until they are adults and some never speak out taking them to their grave.

“The courage shown by these young people should be an example to us all.

“We train professionals who work with children to identify the signs and indicators of child sexual abuse. We as a responsible adult have a duty to think the unthinkable and act to protect children regardless of the risks to our jobs - at Ysgol Friars this did not happen.

“Children showed their distress in many different ways. Foden actively sort out any opportunity to be alone with children in his car, in his office with the door shut, taking them to medical appointments all of which should have been red flags. Each one of them a missed opportunity. In this Review we have identified over 50 missed opportunities to intervene and to stop him.

“I would like now to turn to the recommendations. The recommendations are designed to bring about the most significant change in Safeguarding in schools in Wales in a generation. They are ambitious and were generated in part by the victims - informed with the insight of the young people who were harmed.

“The victims have shown bravery and strength working with the Review after a gruelling trial so that we could learn whatever lessons we could to protect other children. I would like to thanks them from the bottom of my heart.

“The name of the review was chosen by one of their number and it is now our duty as adults, professionals and politicians to rise to their challenge to do all that is within our power to prevent this from happening again, not call for yet more inquiries. Now is the time to act.”

Angela Wood, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “As a key partner of the North Wales Safeguarding Board the Health Board is extremely sorry for what these young people have experienced and we recognise the strength they have shown to speak out.

“Safeguarding vulnerable children and young people is a fundamental priority for the Health Board.

“This Child Practice Review evidences both the complexity of the work carried out and the scrutiny which has taken place to support its findings. It reinforces how important those safeguarding conversations are and the importance of good communication mechanisms when working with children, young people and our partner agencies.

“The review provides key learning for all agencies and the Health Board both accepts and will fully implement the two recommendations specific to the organisation. Work towards doing this has already started and will strengthen the full range of safeguarding measures already in place.

“We will also fully support and engage with our partners and the North Wales Safeguarding Board to implement the wider recommendations identified in this review.

“We challenge ourselves to continually strive to improve our safeguarding interventions throughout the organisation. It is crucial that all partners learn from this review and work closely together to ensure the improvements are made at pace.”

Gwynedd Council “welcomed the publication” of the report, adding: “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 the council, 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.”

Cllr Menna Trenholme, 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.”

Cllr Dewi Jones, 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 the council 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.”