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There were more than 50 "missed opportunities" to intervene and stop paedophile headteacher Neil Foden who went on to sexually abuse girls for years. A damning report catalogued the failings over several years with issues dating back as far back as 2018. Despite concerns about inappropriate relationships with children being raised by kids, parents, the NSPCC, a sexual assault referral centre and a social worker Foden continued in his role as headteacher at Ysgol Friars in Bangor . He was even appointed to an additional role as strategic head at Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle. These concerns continued to be brought to the attention of authorities. It included inappropriate contact with girls and excessive force used in restraint of boys. Follow our liveblog here for reaction to the Neil Foden abuse report His reign of terror finally ended in 2023 when a claim of sexual assault was made by a child and Foden arrested. Last year he was jailed for 17 years after being convicted of 19 charges involving four girls. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox A Child Practice Review (CPR), led by prominent expert Jan Pickles, has looked into the crimes and on Tuesday the panel published their 107 page report. It said repeated warnings about Foden, who it describes as "opportunistic and determined", were either ignored or inadequately addressed. Ms Pickles described Foden as "a sophisticated and controlling paedophile" who "created a culture which enabled his offending in plain sight". She said safeguarding was a "multi-agency responsibility", requiring all agencies to contribute to keep children safe and follow agreed legislation, guidance and policies, adding: "In this case, those arrangements failed." She praised the victims who had "bravely" come forward to finally get justice. Dylan Owen, Cyngor Gwynedd social services statutory director, said: "The very last thing that any director of social services or anyone who works for social care is for anyone to be mistreated and to be abused in this manner. I personally feel a deep shame that this happened - an appalling episode in the history of social care in North Wales and Gwynedd. We don't hesitate in providing that apology." Council leader Cllr Nia Jeffreys said: "The report turns your stomach really. "The voice of the children should have been heard. As Dylan said an apology means nothing without action. "We have to listen to children and empower them. We need to normalise being able to speak about sexual abuse so the children have the opportunity to come forward and be listened to." The Council said it 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. The leader added: "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.” 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." Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
