Appeal for Witnesses in Canolfan Brynffynnon Abuse Claims

Solicitors acting for former pupils of a North Wales school are appealing for witnesses to come forward to assist their investigations into former staff who allegedly abused pupils at the school between September 2006 and March 2014. 

Katherine Yates from Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors in Cambridge specialises in obtaining compensation for victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse who were abused in schools or children’s homes.

During their investigations Andrew Grove and Co discovered that the accused staff dodged 50 charges at court and were suspended on full pay for nine years. Subsequently, two of the three accused received a redundancy package, and one is still employed by Gwynedd Council.

Canolfan Brynffynnon pupil referral unit, Felinheli, was closed suddenly in 2014.  Parents were bemused when out of the blue one day taxis failed to arrive to take their children to school.  Phone calls were made to the school and parents were told that because of an electrical fault and a broken window the school would be closed for a few days. 

Parents had no reason to believe that they were being deceived with this explanation until a few days later in the local supermarket a mother whose child was a pupil at the school read the following headlines in a local newspaper on the newspaper stand which shocked her to her core:  

“Gwynedd:  Teachers arrested over allegations of assaults on students.” 

When the woman read the article she found it hard to believe what she was reading: “Two teachers from Canolfan Brynffynnon, a special school for kids with behavioural issues, were arrested and the unit has been closed.” 

The mum, whom we shall call Becky, was upset and angry that she had to read the information in a local newspaper and that she had been lied to when she had telephoned the school for information. 

Becky said: “My son (whom we are calling Cynan) came home one day and said that he would not be going to school the next day because of some problem with the school building. Sure enough the taxi did not arrive in the morning. After a couple of days, I telephoned the school to ask when it would reopen. I was told that there were some electrical problems and a broken window to fix and that parents would be advised when their children could return. The next information I had was from reading the headlines on our local newspaper about child cruelty. I was horrified.”

Over the next few months many of the children were interviewed by police and gave similar stories of mistreatment and cruelty at the school. 

The alleged offences occurred between September 2006 and March 2014.  Two teachers were suspended on 6th March 2014 and between them faced 50 charges. In total 24 children, who were all vulnerable and under the age of 16, made statements alleging mistreatment and/or cruelty.  The case was headed for trial at Mold Crown Court but on the first day of the trial on 23rd March 2016 the CPS offered no evidence and the case was dropped. 

Katherine Yates said: “I asked Becky why the mums had not got together and compared notes when their children were telling them what had happened to them at school. Becky said that as it was a special school with children attending from a wide area they were picked up and dropped off by taxi so there were no chats with other parents at the school gates.

“Also, she said that in the two years her son Cynan was at the school there were no parents’ evenings, no sports days and no Christmas concerts or indeed any occasion where the parents could meet and talk. 

“Many of the children were given sweets at the school on a Friday afternoon and told not to tell their parents about anything that had happened at school during the week.  Other children were threatened with punishment if they spoke about what happened in school, so there were powerful reasons for the children to stay quiet. When children did speak out or if parents noticed bruising on their children and complained to the school, nothing changed.”

Becky’s son Cynan, who was at Canolfan Brynnfynnon between the ages of 8 and 10, was told that if he complained to his parents about what happened at school then bad things would happen to him and the other children. 

Becky said: “Cynan had footballs kicked at him. The children were made to stand inside tyres in the playground which were piled up around them and footballs were kicked at their heads. 

“Sometimes Cynan had to bend over so that the football could be kicked at his backside and other times they kicked the ball at his body.  Cynan said that the teachers flicked his ears and called him fat and stupid. He was also force-fed and saw staff bullying other children and pushing their faces into their plates of food.  Cynan remembers that staff force-fed some kids until they were sick.”

Another pupil, whom we shall call Celt, said: “One day (the teacher) got me up against the wall with his hands around my throat and lost his temper and was throttling me. I thought I was going to die.  Luckily my friend, who was a few years older than me, saw what he was doing and started shouting at him to let me go.  When he did not let me go, she kicked him in the shins until he dropped me. Then they locked her in a toilet for the rest of the day without any food or water.

“I went home, and my mum and grandmother saw the bruises and hand marks still on my neck and my mum went down to the school at 9.00am the next morning to complain and all the teacher did was shout at me.  Nothing changed.

“I was made to stand in tyres and the staff used to kick footballs at me.  Sometimes the balls hit the back of my head, and I could not see them coming.

“If I did not eat my school meals, they used to throw the tray of food at me.”

Parents were never given any explanation as to why the case did not proceed at court and were left in the dark.

Perhaps the most inexplicable part of this long-running saga is that the three staff who were suspended were kept in limbo on suspension for nine years on full pay. Two of them were then given redundancy packages. How much did this fiasco cost local taxpayers?

Katherine Yates added: “If you were at Canolfan Brynffynnon during this time or are the parent of a child who was there, please make contact with us.”

Katherine Yates can be contacted at Andrew Grove and Co. on 01223 367133 or 07810 224545 or by email katherine@andrewgroveandco.com