Agenda item

To consider the report

DECISION:

·       To accept the detail of the Response Plan

·       To thank the Officers for their work and welcome that the Response Plan is being discussed in several forums

·       That a simple and definite summary/front page of the main action points is needed

·       That the Committee receives regular updates on the actions that have been taken or are being considered to be a suitable and appropriate response to the situation

·       Request by the Committee for Estyn to acknowledge the weaknesses of their report on the Council's safeguarding arrangements, June 2023

·       That the Whistleblowing Arrangements and Safeguarding Arrangements need to be among the best;

-    would welcome reviews to these policies

-    need an update on the work, the timetable and how they are adopted

 

Note:

Request to review the last paragraph 2.5 of the Response Plan: 'Investigation into the events of 2019 that has been the subject of press coverage' – more context is needed about the independent investigation that was completed and what reason was for the decision not to share the report/findings.

Request to set out the context for Estyn's commendation of the Council's safeguarding arrangements (June 2023). The wording as it is, is inappropriate given the failures that later emerged.

 

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Nia Jeffreys, thanked the Chair for the invitation to present the Council's response plan to the Our Bravery Brought Justice Report.

 

As Leader, she sincerely apologised to the victims and all those affected by the horrific crimes of the former Headteacher of Ysgol Friars. The children's voices had not been heard and she made it clear that their experiences and voices were important to her. She reiterated that without action, an apology would be merely empty words, and the greatest tribute that could be given to the courage of the victims was a reassurance and a promise of change; the aim of the plan was to ensure that such failures did not happen again in Gwynedd and that the challenges facing the Council to change systems and the culture were vital to such a serious issue. It was noted that she would appreciate the committee's comments in the context of managing and monitoring the plan's risks; that transparency was necessary and restored confidence among the public.

 

It was explained that the Response Plan was a live, public document and that the minutes of the Response Plan Programme Board meetings would report on the progress taking place.

 

She thanked the Committee for its willingness to discuss such a difficult subject, but that its contribution would lead to an improvement in the Council's safeguarding arrangements to ensure that this did not happen again. She expressed that safeguarding and protecting children from harm was everyone's responsibility. She expressed her gratitude for the fantastic collaboration that had taken place to date with Sally Holland (Chair of the Response Plan Programme Board), everyone involved in the Scheme, with fantastic work from several Council Departments involved in the response. While no single Service, Department, political group or individual could achieve this alone, she stressed the need for collaboration across Committees, across Departments and across political divides, so that real and timely progress could be made in this vital area. As a result, the scrutiny process would not only hold the Council to account but would also contribute to shaping a safer future for the children and young people of the County.

 

She suggested returning to report on the progress of the Plan within 6 months to a year, should the Committee so wish.

 

The Chief Executive presented the details and functionality of the Response Plan. He highlighted that the original Response Plan had been adopted by the Cabinet (January 2025) and as with any living document, it had evolved since that time. Since the publication of the Our Bravery Brought Justice Report (November 2025) the Plan had been amended to address the themes and recommendations set out in the report. Comments / considerations, from other consultees, from this Governance and Audit Committee meeting, the extraordinary meetings of the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee and the Care Scrutiny Committee and the Extraordinary Meeting of the Full Council, would be included in the final Response Plan to be formally submitted to the Cabinet in March 2026.

 

In addressing the priorities of the plan, it was highlighted that in situations where we had to wait for others to act, there were interim arrangements in place. It was reported that there were seven main themes within the Response Plan that aligned with the themes of the report and that each theme was led by a specific officer.

 

The members expressed their gratitude for the report.

 

The Chair noted that it was the Committee's duty to consider whether or not the Response Plan was appropriate and just, that the main priorities were being implemented, and to provide advice on dealing with dependencies.

 

Observations arising from the ensuing discussion:

·        The report was lengthy, and verbose at times. Nevertheless, those who had co-ordinated the work were commended for the extensive and professional work

·        Welcomed that the Response Plan was being discussed at several forums

·        A simple and definite summary/front page of the main action points was needed

·        While acknowledging the need to safeguard children in schools, it was a must to safeguard children in all situations

·        Work stream 3: Reference to grooming training (3.4) - the need to amend the emphasis of the training / title of the training to include recognition of preventing the fostering of inappropriate relationships.

·        Reference to a barrister's report 'Inquiry into the Events of 2019 which has been the subject of press coverage' - needed more context for the independent investigation that was completed and what was the reason not to share the report/conclusions in the appendices? Was the barrister part of the firm providing legal advice to the Council? The narrative of paragraph 2.5 was unclear.

·        Welcomed the detail of the Response Plan on what was going to happen but needed to reflect on what had happened. The failures of staff on all levels needed to be disclosed and discussions held with those who were at the root of these failures. Needed to ensure that a process was being followed to understand the context of what went wrong.

·        In the context of 'missed opportunities' and 'professional duty', while accepting that specific cases could not be discussed, there was a need for assurance that disciplinary arrangements were in place, a timetable for the disciplinary process and a means of reporting on the action; this was fair to those families who had been affected.

·        Welcomed that the plan placed emphasis on whistleblowing and safeguarding arrangements – we needed to be at our best in these areas. While welcoming revisions to the policies, an update was needed on the work, timetable and manner in which they were being adopted

·        That processes must be short, precise and effective and that a change of culture should be embedded and not in response to a box ticking practice

·        Welcomed the tightening of arrangements with the Police and the Health Board

·        That the Committee received regular updates on the actions that had been taken or were being considered as a suitable and appropriate response to the situation

 

In response to a comment that the effort to look at the system anew may cause excessive change, rather than focusing on ensuring that staff followed policies and processes, and whether this was an organisational failure or the failure of individuals; it was noted that the report recognised the need to change and improve a number of systems and therefore the Council was taking the opportunity to look at all systems. It was reiterated that some systems needed to be better embedded within Council arrangements, but that some of the recommendations required national guidance such as changing policies and procedures, training, behaviours and accountability for action; That the response offered more than a change of process – it set an ambition of culture change.

 

In response to a comment that there were extensive references to Estyn, although the inspection, undertaken in June 2023, had been flawed and misleading about safeguarding arrangements, and that there was no apparent acknowledgement of those shortcomings in the report, it was agreed that the information could be added to the final report which would be submitted to the Cabinet. The Head of Education elaborated that he would raise the matter with Estyn and highlight that the Governance and Audit Committee needed to receive acknowledgement from Estyn that their review had been misleading. This would restore the public's confidence in future Estyn reports.

 

It was pointed out that there were sufficient examples of what went wrong but no reasoning as to 'why?' (factors such as Intentional? Unintentional? Laziness? A close relationship? Culture? Shortcomings?) and in response to a further comment that some elements of the failures may be hidden behind processes and systems, and that there was inadequate factual reference to this in the Response Plan, the Chief Executive noted that the Council had a duty to look into this and as more evidence and conclusions emerged, the picture would become clearer. He argued that failures in systems and arrangements highlighted failure, but it was difficult to include the human element.

 

While there was no price on children's safety, it was noted in response to a question about the costs of the process, that there
were costs to investigations and backfilling costs and support for Ysgol Friars – the costs of any further changes would be part of the Council's budgeting process. It was reiterated that the costs of the process had been included on the Council's risk register and in the Council Plan, and although the Welsh Government made a financial contribution, the costs diverted staff time and resources from elsewhere.

 

In terms of the responsibilities of Governors and the need to reconcile standards, ensure appropriate training to carry out the duties of the post effectively, ensure the suitability of the Chair of Governors for the post and a suggestion to limit Governors’ term, the Cabinet Member for Education noted that the Welsh Government was undertaking a review into the concerns about the school governors system, and that the conclusions of the review would be shared in Spring 2026. He reiterated that the system in Wales was outdated and that the purpose of the review was to look at the different responsibilities of Governors. It was also suggested that Community Governors needed to have a more significant role.

 

In response to a question about the future cost of court proceedings, the Chief Executive stated that he was not aware of any court proceedings at this time, however, if a case or claim was to arise from the situation, the Council had adequate insurance and reserves to cope with the situation. The costs would not affect the Council's revenue budgets. He added that the Council had tiers of insurance for different situations and that each case could be dealt with appropriately.

 

The Chair thanked everyone for their contributions and the officers for submitting responses.

 

RESOLVED:

·        To accept the detail of the Response Plan

·        To thank the Officers for their work and welcome that the Response Plan is being discussed at several forums

·        A simple and definite summary/front page of the main action points is needed

·        The Committee shall receive regular updates on the actions taken or being considered as a suitable and appropriate response to the situation

·        A request by the Committee for Estyn to acknowledge the weaknesses of their report on the Council's safeguarding arrangements, June 2023

·        That the Whistleblowing Arrangements and Safeguarding Arrangements need to be among the best

- reviews to these policies are welcome

- need an update on the work, timetable and manner in which they are adopted

                                            

Note:

Review the last paragraph 2.5 of the Response Plan: 'Investigation into the Events of 2019 that has been the subject of press coverage' – more context is needed about the independent investigation that was completed and what the reason was for the decision not to share the report/findings.

Set out the context for Estyn's commendation of the Council's safeguarding arrangements (June 2023). The wording as it is inappropriate given the failures that later emerged.