Cyngor Gwynedd says it is "confident" children in the county are safer, a year on from a damning report into safeguarding failures.

'Our Bravery Brought Justice', published last November, revealed authorites missed 52 opportunities to stop paedophile Neil Foden.

The disgraced ex-Ysgol Friars headteacher was jailed for 17 years for sexually abusing four young girls between 2019 and 2023.

The child practice review criticised the school and its governors, along with the county council, for "major weaknesses", and made 27 recommendations for improving safeguarding arrangements.

On Monday, Cyngor Gwynedd said it had delivered eight of the nine recommendations it was required to fulfill and expects to complete the last reccomendation by the end of the year.

But council chiefs insist they won't become complacement and that "safeguarding children will remain its top priority".

Meanwhile, the chair of a board overseeing the local authority's response warned that while progress had been made, it would take "longer to regain the confidence of the people of Gwynedd".

Dafydd Gibbard, chief executive of Cyngor Gwynedd, said: "We have prioritised this important work above all else to deliver a host of changes to our safeguarding arrangements and I am pleased that we have made good progress."

"We can never become complacent of course. Robust safeguarding structures depend on culture and mindset as well as good arrangements, and that must be ongoing work in any organisation."

"Safeguarding is also a responsibility on us all and we must all be prepared to speak up if we see something that is not right."

"We have put a great deal of effort into ensuring that Cyngor Gwynedd staff across all departments, and in all settings, receive the right training so that they are confident in recognising the signs, know how to raise their voices and are prepared to always listen to a vulnerable person."

Last year's report, commissioned by the North Wales Safeguarding Board, examined the multi-agency response prior to Foden's arrest in September 2023.

In response, Cyngor Gwynedd said it had worked closely with the NSPCC to develop specialist training on grooming, which had not previously existed in Wales.

A specialist team of officers has also been set up, which regularly visits the county's schools to check safeguarding arrangements and ensure any issues are addressed.

Other measures taken included:

• Creating a dedicated Gwynedd Youth Forum to contribute to decisions across the local authority
• Two more officers supporting school governors and clerks, providing more training and guidance on safeguarding
• New arrangemens for receiving, investigating and making decisions on child abuse concerns
• More awareness and training for over 6,000 council workers on how to identify and report concerns about vulnerable children or adults

Council leader Nia Jeffreys said: "There is no doubt that the people and communities of Gwynedd continue to live with the profound impact of what happened."

"As we mark one year since the publication of Our Bravery Brought Justice, and share the progress made in implementing the report's recommendations, I once again stress that what drives us to improve is the courage of the survivors."

"Their voices led to justice through the courts and have now triggered change. The best tribute we could pay to the courage of the young people was to deliver the changes as quickly as possible."

"We've looked at our failures honestly, put all our energy into learning the lessons and done everything we can to prevent a similar situation from happening again."

The council's response to the report is being scrutinised by a separate response board, led by Professor Sally Holland, the former Children's Commissioner for Wales.

She said: "As we mark this anniversary it is important to reflect on both the visible steps that Cyngor Gwynedd has taken and the work still to be done."

"It has been encouraging to see the Cyngor working not just to ensure that its safeguarding work was sound, which was a basic requirement, but to lay the foundations for cultural change."

"This includes clearer routes for children’s perspectives to be heard in Gwynedd’s schools and other services, and more meaningful training for staff."

"While procedures and policies have changed, it is going to take longer to re-gain the confidence of the people of Gwynedd."

"As part of our role, the response board has supported the development of measures so that the Cyngor can understand and report on children and adults’ confidence in the safeguarding system, and their experiences of its operations."

"The board continues to be motivated by the bravery and dignity of the survivors to ensure we critically scrutinise progress, while also offering advice and support on how to develop further."