Top officials at council which employed paedophile head 'absent from work'

Senior officers at the council which employed paedophile headteacher Neil Foden are "absent from work", BBC News has been told.

An email sent to Gwynedd councillors by the authority's chief executive stated there were arrangements in place to lead its children and family support department while the head and deputy head are absent.

Foden, 66, was imprisoned for 17 years in July last year, for sexually abusing young girls over a four-year period.

He was head of one Gwynedd school and strategic head of another when he was arrested, and was later convicted of 19 charges.

The charges included 12 counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexual activity with a child while he was in a position of trust.

In the email from Chief Executive Dafydd Gibbard, seen by BBC-produced Newyddion S4C, all 69 Gwynedd councillors were told it was "unlikely we will be able to return to our normal arrangements for a while".

Both absent senior officers were named in the letter, along with their titles and information about the staff stepping up into the roles.

However, it does not state why they are not in their posts at present.

Cyngor Gwynedd declined to reveal the details surrounding the absences, stating that "short-term arrangements have been put in place to lead the department".

Sharron Carter and Aled Gibbard will be "sharing the responsibilities of the head of the children and family support department", Mr Gibbard wrote, with Dylan Owen, the council's corporate director, supporting the two temporary leaders whilst continuing to "provide strategic guidance to the department".

Genevieve Woods, a specialist safeguarding barrister, was commissioned by the council earlier this year to investigate events in 2019, when concerns were raised with the authority about Foden's behaviour with some teenage girls.

She revealed her findings in mid-March, with Cyngor Gwynedd saying in April that because the report contained "sensitive and confidential information" it would not yet be made public.

During Foden's trial, it emerged that in 2019, a senior member of staff was concerned about his "close relationship" with some teenage girls, although the concerns had been for Foden's own reputation and that he could be putting himself at risk of accusations.

The concerns were shared with Cyngor Gwynedd, but the court heard that a decision was made not to investigate further.

BBC Wales understands four members of staff were part of the decision not to investigate at the time, and a BBC Wales Investigates programme into the case revealed three of those were still employed by the council.

Councillors have been told a number of recommendations, and associated actions, are in place following Ms Woods' report.

These include that the council will put in place arrangements for dealing with concerns which do not reach the formal child safeguarding threshold, as well as strengthening whistleblowing and record keeping arrangements, and providing safeguarding training to all council staff.

The full report has been sent to the independent investigators of the statutory Child Practice Review, which is being carried out by North Wales Safeguarding Board.

Cyngor Gwynedd said it had received "legal advice from independent experts on the next steps".

It added: "As a responsible employer, Gwynedd Council has a responsibility to respect the confidentiality of staff. Because of this, we cannot share information relating to the employment of individuals."

A request for comment has been passed on to the absent staff members through Cyngor Gwynedd.