A family whose child was subjected to emotional and physical abuse by former headteacher and convicted paedophile Neil Foden is taking legal action against Gwynedd Council.
Foden (66) started working at Ysgol Friars School in north Wales as Deputy Headteacher in 1989, before being promoted to Headteacher in 1997.
In May this year Foden was convicted at Mold Crown Court of 19 offences involving the abuse of four girls between 2019 and 2023. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
During his trial it was found that a teacher raised concerns about Foden meeting teenagers alone with Gwynedd Council’s then Director of Education, Garem Jackson, in 2019 but the council failed to investigate.
Foden was also found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct in 2020 after the Education Workforce Council panel heard allegations against him from three members of staff between April 2014 and October 2016.
Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors in Cambridgeshire is acting on behalf of the claimants in the civil lawsuit against the local authority. Solicitor Katherine Yates is appealing for anyone who suffered emotional, psychological, physical or sexual abuse at Foden’s hands to get in touch.
“This case raises a lot of questions,” said Katherine. “There seems to be a long history of complaints against Foden, so why wasn’t anything done sooner?
“He started working at Ysgol Friars School over 30 years ago, so his reign of abuse could be over a much longer period than we initially thought.
“Foden exploited his position at the school and victimised both staff and pupils, so whether you were abused by him or have information that might be useful to our investigation, please come forward.
“We’re offering our support to anyone that suffered abuse from Foden in any capacity.”
Katherine Yates can be contacted at Andrew Grove and Co on 01223 367133 or 07810 224545 or by email: katherine@andrewgroveandco.com
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