Leaders and agencies, including the North Wales Safeguarding Board, issued apologies, promised accountability, and outlined an action plan, stressing that lessons must be learned and drawing a line to the 2004 Clywch Inquiry.

Led by Jan Pickles OBE, the review analyzes a vast volume of evidence—much larger than typical reviews—and details a culture of silence and systemic failings across multiple agencies and schools.

Officials, led by the North Wales Safeguarding Board and Gwynedd Council, acknowledged harm to victims, pledged to publish an action plan, and commit to implementing improvements across safeguarding arrangements.

Investigators found 52 separate concerns about Neil Foden’s conduct, including inappropriate contact with pupils, being alone with them, giving lifts, and accompanying them to medical appointments without parental knowledge, with warnings from staff, parents, and NSPCC repeatedly ignored.

The Child Practice Review, Our Bravery Brought Justice, published after Foden’s 2024 conviction and 17-year prison sentence for 19 charges against four girls, examines how his abuse unfolded over years.

The article emphasizes a call for systemic change in Wales’s child-protection practices, highlighting survivor bravery and a renewed commitment to safeguarding in schools.

Alarms from NSPCC and Sexual Assault Referral Centres were raised but not acted upon by local authorities, illustrating a pattern of failure to protect children.

A four-person Gwynedd Council meeting discussed concerns about two vulnerable children with Foden only in terms of professional conduct, with no child-protection actions taken despite red flags.

Rocio Cifuentes, Wales’s Children’s Commissioner, urged strengthened safeguarding arrangements, urgent action, and lessons learned to prevent future failures.

The case traces a long history of concerns back to 2018, with multiple complaints and referrals that failed to trigger proper investigations, culminating in Foden’s arrest in 2023 and conviction in 2024.

The report condemns ignoring children's voices, noting no attempts to ask children about Foden’s actions over five to six years, a stance politicians and advocates have called a national shame.

The North Wales Safeguarding Board commissioned the independent review, led by Jan Pickles with two external reviewers, to assess multi-agency safeguarding failures and propose improvements.

An independent Child Practice Review published on November 4, 2025, examines more than 50 missed opportunities to stop headteacher Neil Foden from abusing girls in Gwynedd between 2017 and 2023 (with some allegations dating back to 1979).