A solicitor representing victims of paedophile headteacher Neil Foden is suing Gwynedd Council and wants an independent investigation into why authorities failed to act, despite dozens of safeguarding concerns.

A damning Child Practice Review (CPR) published on Tuesday, 4 November, revealed more than 50 “missed opportunities” to intervene and stop Foden, a prolific child sex offender who was able to abuse girls for over 40 years.

Foden, 68, from Conwy County, who was headteacher of Ysgol Friars in Bangor and Strategic Head of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, was jailed for 17 years in 2024 after being convicted of 19 offences involving four girls at Ysgol Friars in Gwynedd.

The review, led by safeguarding expert Jan Pickles, described Foden as “a sophisticated and controlling paedophile” who “created a culture which enabled his offending in plain sight”.

Now, Cambridge-based abuse law specialist Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors is suing Gwynedd Council on behalf of 22 victims aged between 15 and 58.

Solicitor Katherine Yates, who represents the victims, said she was appalled by the findings.

“This is a shocking report which details over 50 instances where something could and should have been done and wasn’t,” said Katherine.

“The local authority has said that it’s sorry and should have done things better, but in my opinion that’s not good enough. There are systematic failures here and there needs to be accountability – why was action not taken?”

Katherine said the review highlighted the fact that failures extended far beyond complaints from children being ignored.

“What really bothers me is that it’s clear from the review that it wasn’t just complaints by children that were mostly ignored. There were employment tribunals, including one in 2018, where a judge apparently called Foden a bully, arrogant, petty, vindictive. Judges don’t make comments like that about a headteacher without good reason. Someone should have been asking, what is going on in that school?”

She also praised the review team for their work and the victims for their courage in contributing evidence.

“I was very impressed with the review – Ms Pickles and her team have done an excellent job. The people who contributed have been so brave – it can’t have been easy to revisit what they suffered, but by doing so they’ve really made a difference.

“Now there must be an investigation into those 52 missed opportunities: who should have acted, and why they failed to do so.”

Following the review Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors is continuing with its pursuit of civil action against Gwynedd Council seeking compensation for the victims.

“Lives have been ruined here,” said Katherine.

“I hope that Foden’s younger victims will recover and be able to move on, but their trust in authority is so damaged. The older victims still suffer – some were abused 40 years ago and still can’t move past it. One of my clients told me what he did to her has overshadowed every aspect of her life – her relationships, her marriage, everything. She and all the other victims deserve answers.”