And the Reasons for covering-up these failures at the expense of Destroying the Career of an honest, professional long serving Senior HR Officer
Part 1
Introduction
I have created this page to focus on the Council’s major failures to provide a robust Safeguarding Procedure with particular reference to Whistleblowing arrangements and the cover-up of these failures by scapegoating an honest long serving Senior HR Officer and unfairly dismissing him because 5 Head Teachers from the Southern Cluster Group of Schools , led by Simone Roden (Head of Ynysowen Primary School) issued an ultimatum to the Council stating that if this Officer’s employment was not terminated they would withdraw from the authority’s Service Level Agreement for the provision of a HR Support Service.
Update
This Head was very annoyed when the Chair informed her that the Senior HR Officer had given advice at the meeting that consideration needed to be given to arranging an independent investigation of the alleged incident with the pupil.She was so annoyed that she formed a Cabal with four other Heads from the Southern Cluster of Schools and issued an ultimatum to the LA that if they did not sack the Officer they would withdraw from the LA’s Service Level Agreement for the provision of a HR Support Service.
When the Sh*t finally hits the fan, people will say, “How did they get away with it for so long? Surely, someone must have known”
When will the Con stop? PART 3
When will the Con stop? PART 2
When will the Con stop?
Update from meeting of Full Council held on 13th September.
Draft Minutes Full Council Meeting 13th September 2023 Part 2
The Farce of Putting Questions to the Full Council with No Answers to the Questions.
Part 2
A Simple Question
The Council’s Constitution stipulates that members of the public are able to ask the Mayor to put a question to the Full Council. At the meeting of the Full Council held on 12th July 2023, the Mayor posed the following question on my behalf:
“When will the WAO Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council be considered by the Full Council”.
Part 3
The Response
See Blog Posts Ref No1 and No 2 for more details.
Councillor Julia Jenkins responded in great detail to the question.
I say responded, with respect. However, she spoke a lot of words but did not actually answer the question.
Not her fault. She gave the response based on information provided for her by an Officer of the Council.
UPDATE
Another question for Full Council
My question, see below, was put to the Full Council on Wednesday 13th September 2023:
“Has the WAO Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council ever been considered and discussed at any official Council Meeting.
If it has, please provide details of the meeting/s concerned.
If not, why not, and when will the original report be presented to the Full Council for consideration and discussion”.
The Question referred to “Considered and Discussion”
“Councillor J Jenkins Cabinet Member for Social Services then gave the following response to the question:
“Reports were considered at Standards Committee (November 2019) Governance and Audit Committee (November 2020) and Social Services Scrutiny (February 2021) in respect of Whistleblowing arrangements.
A report was also received by Cabinet in July 2021 outlining progress against the audit report recommendations.
All recommendations have been actioned and addressed.
In response to this further question the Director of Social Services has written an Information Report, which is included in today’s papers.
Information Reports are received without any discussion.
This report outlines the work that has been completed in the past few years in respect of whistleblowing and safeguarding and the responses to audits and inspections.
I respectfully refer Members to that report in response to the question asked.”
Councillor J Jenkins also advised that the Wales Audit Office report issued August 2019 – ‘Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements Relating to Safeguarding – Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council’ had also been circulated to all Councillors.“
The response from Councillor Jenkins does not answer the Question.
There is no indication in the response to when the Original Auditors’ Report was CONSIDERED AND DISCUSSED at any Council Committee.
It is good to hear that the Original Report has been circulated to Councillors.
However, there is no indication of what status has been given to the Circulated report.
For example, has it been sent for information, or has it been sent for comments.
The point is, again, when will the Full Council consider and discuss this report.
It’s not a Hot Potato. It’s a simple question.
FOI Information Request
I have also made the following FOI Request for information:
“Will you please confirm when the following reports were presented and discussed at any Council Committee meeting and which Committee meetings.
Review of Corporate Arrangements for Safeguarding in Welsh Councils (issued July 2015)
Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements for Safeguarding at Merthyr Council (issued August 2019)
Follow-up Report Review of Corporate Arrangements for Safeguarding (issued August 2019)“
In accordance with FOI regulations the Council should provide this information normally not later than 25th August 2023.
Part 4
The Bottom Line
The real reasons why the Senior HR Officer was dismissed
To cover-up the failures of Fran Donnelly, Alex Beckham, Sarah Bowen, Rosa Lazell and Simone Roden, to properly deal with a Child Protection Safeguarding Issue that occurred at Ynysowen Primary School in February 2016.
In addition to the above, the Main Players in the Unfair Dismissal of the Senior HR Officer were Carys Kennedy, Simon Jones, Gareth Chapman, Ellis Cooper and Fran Donnelly (again).
A question
You may well ask why was that such a huge problem for the Senior Officers of the Council.
This is where it gets really interesting.
The Audit Office Wales (WAO) issued 3 reports dealing with Safeguarding at the Council.
Blog post ref No 7 deals with the first report issued in July 2015. Review of Corporate Safeguarding in Welsh Councils.
Blog post ref No 6 deals with Merthyr Council’s Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding Children in Education.
This report has never been seen by a Council Committee.
Safeguarding children in education: handling allegations of abuse against
teachers and other staff.
Guidance for local authorities, headteachers, school staff,
governing bodies and proprietors of independent schools. Welsh Government circular no: 009/2014
Date of issue: April 2014
The above regulations must be read to understand how the Safeguarding Issue at Ynysowen Primary School in February 2016 was mishandled by the Chair of Governors;
the LA Safeguarding Manager; the HR Manager; and the Head of Legal/HR Resources/ Monitoring Officer.
A Senior HR Officer was unfairly dismissed by the LA in January 2017 because the Head Teacher of Ynysowen Primary School was annoyed because the Officer insisted that these rules included in these regulations should be considered.
A written record of the discussion and the outcome of decisions at a Safeguarding Strategy meeting must be maintained.
No such record exists.
Blog post ref No 4 includes details of another report issued in August 2019.
This report has never been seen by a Council Committee.
Blog post ref No 4 also includes details of another report also issued in August 2019.
This report has never been seen by a Council Committee.
Clarification on Reports not being seen by a Council Committee
Officers’ Reports
Senior Officers ensure that some reports, such as these, are only referred to in Officer Reports to Council Committees.
By following this practice the Officers “cherry pick” specific extracts from the Original reports that will not cause them to have to answer any potential awkward questions.
The Officers also make sweeping statements like “everything is fine”. When, in actual fact, everything is not fine.
Blog post ref No 5 deals with Alex Beckham who was a co-author of a Report to the Scrutiny Meeting Social Services held on 20th October 2015
Alex Beckham was a co-author of a Report to the Scrutiny Meeting Social Services held on 20th October 2015
Only 4 months later, she was also an attendee at the Safeguarding Strategy Meetings held at Ynysowen Primary School on 24th and 25th February 2016.
It is clear from her report that she was well aware of the process to be followed when an allegation of abuse is made against a Head Teacher of the School.
That being the case, why did she not ensure that the proper process was followed by herself and the Chair of Governors at the Safeguarding Strategy Meetings at Ynysowen Primary School.
Why did she not ensure that a written record, as required by the Welsh Government Regulations, was made of the decision to not proceed with the consideration of an independent investigation into the allegation made against the Head Teacher.
Similarly, why did she not ensure that the reasons for deciding that the allegation was unfounded were recorded at those Safeguarding Strategy Meetings and also the one allegedly held on 17th March 2016.
The Senior HR Officer Whistleblower was not invited to this meeting on 17th March.
She was also a witness for the Council at the Employment Tribunal in May 2018.
She is now employed as the Head of Service for Learning Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Misuse at RCT Council
Onwards and upwards for her career.
Unfortunately, the Senior HR Officer’s career was destroyed.
Good to have friends on Your Team
There were a number of people involved in the failure to follow Safeguarding Procedures and in the cover-up these failures.
A quick search of social media will reveal that a few of those involved in the cover-up and the failures to follow proper Safeguarding Procedures are also Facebook friends.
See below:
- Fran Donnelly – HR Manager (line manager of Senior HR Officer)
- Alex Beckham – Safeguarding Manager (attendee at Safeguarding Strategy Meetings in 2016)
- Sarah Bowen – Lead Manager for Child Protection – Education (attendee at Safeguarding Strategy Meetings in 2016)
The Chair of Governors was responsible for failing to consider the need for an independent investigation into the child protection safeguarding incident.
All of these officers were complicit in the Safeguarding weaknesses reported in the WAO Reports.
The Monitoring Officer was responsible for failing to ensure that Original WAO Reports were submitted to Council Committee meetings along with the Officers’ Reports.
The Monitoring Officer was responsible for her failed attempt to terminate the Senior HR Officer in 2012 when she arranged for him to be suspended three times consecutively for 18 months from July 2012 to January 2014.
The Monitoring Officer was responsible, on 7th June 2016, for unsuccessfully attempting to bribe the Senior HR Officer with a payment of £20k to resign and sign an NDA.
The Monitoring Officer was responsible for arranging a fabricated SOSR investigation which resulted in the unfair dismissal, in January 2017, of the Senior HR Officer.
The Chief Executive Officer was responsible for failing to ensure that the Monitoring Officer and the Deputy Monitoring Officer complied with the Council’s Constitution.
The WAO Auditor author of the Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council was responsible for issuing a biased and incomplete report, for example:
- by omitting to include very important information that had been given to him by the Senior HR Officer.
- by stating that the Chair of Governors had not breached any regulations and then following that up by stating that no decision could be made regarding whether or not the Council had complied with its Whistleblowing Policy.
They all played a part in the dismissal of the Senior HR Officer
The Rogues’ Gallery
Weaknesses identified by the Auditor.
Aspects of record keeping undermined the Council’s ability to justify some of the decisions taken in relation to the Safeguarding allegations received in February 2016.
With no written record of the conversation between the correspondent and their line manager and disagreement about the content of the meeting, we cannot comment on whether the Council complied with its Whistleblowing Policy.
My comments
How could the Auditor state that the decision of the Chair of Governors did not breach statutory guidance when there was no written evidence to confirm what was the decision of the Chair.
The Auditor could not comment on whether the Council complied with its Whistleblowing Policy.
The Auditor stated “The Council has received legal advice”.
However, there is no evidence or comment on what that advice was.
The Auditor did not comment on why the Council had not taken any action to change the HR support to schools.
Part 5
Which Officer was the only one who attempted to ensure that Welsh Office Regulations on Safeguarding Children were followed?
The Senior HR Officer advised the Chair of Governors that the regulations stipulated that consideration needed to given to arranging an independent investigation into the incident.
His reward for that was to be unfairly dismissed. All to protect the careers of everyone else involved and to cover-up their failings/misconduct/incapability/abuse of power.
Part 6
Blog Posts specifically highlighting the Safeguarding Failures
Alex Beckham – Lead Safeguarding Officer of Merthyr Council (in 2016) Was she there or not on 25th February?
Part 7
The History of Persecution of an honest, professional and longserving employee
My eldest son was employed for 15 years as a Senior HR Officer at Merthyr Council.
He was unfairly dismissed.
He believed in doing a honest professional job following the written rules and regulations.
However, the Monitoring Officer of the Council wanted him to work to her UNWRITTEN rules.
The real reason for his dismissal was to cover-up a serious mistake made by the HR Manager (an acolyte of the Monitoring Officer) shortly after she had been parachuted into the post from the Legal Department of the Council.
The HR Manager moved back to the Legal Department as a Solicitor. I don’t know why. But I sure can speculate 🤔
The Bribe
The Monitoring Officer and the HR Manager offered him over £20k to go quietly with a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
He refused to accept the offer because he had done nothing wrong.
The Previous Suspensions July 2012 to January 2014
The Monitoring Officer played a leading part in my son being suspended for 18 months from July 2012 to January 2014.
The Apology
Following investigations carried out improperly, the CEO Gareth Chapman (now spending more time with his family) issued a grovelling letter of apology for the debacle of how he was treated. An extract from that letter: “You will appreciate that I am unable to give a categoric assurance that such a situation does not arise again. However, with the correct policies and procedures in place together with some training for my Leadership Team on such issues as these, then I would hope they do not happen again.
I can only again apologise for the situation you found yourself in but hope that you will be able to put this incident behind you“.
The Monitoring Officer failed in her attempt to remove him at that time.
The Long Game and False Blame
However, she played the long game and, following the failure of one of her sycophantic acolytes, the HR Manager, to do her job properly, she set up a fabricated SOSR investigation and succeeded in (UNFAIRLY) dismissing him from January 2017.
Part 8
This is a text version of my recent blog post
Some matters of context relating to Lisa Curtis-Jones and Safeguarding
Lisa Curtis-Jones (LCJ) is the Director of Social Services at Merthyr Council.
In February 2016, LCJ was the Chief Officer (Social Services) at Merthyr Council.
At that time, LCJ was responsible for all matters relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council.
In that capacity, LCJ was the Line Manager of Alex Beckham (AB) – Safeguarding Manager.
AB, as Safeguarding Manager, was responsible for convening the Safeguarding Strategy Meetings at Ynysowen Primary School on 24th and 25th February 2016.
AB was also responsible for the recording of all decisions made at these meetings.
AB was also responsible for ensuring that the School’s Chair of Governors, Rosa Lazell (RL), was made aware of the procedures to be followed when dealing with any allegations made against a staff member
For more information on AB’s failures please see the post below
Alex Beckham was a co-author of a Report to the Scrutiny Meeting Social Services held on 20th October 2015
My clarification on Reports not being seen by a Council Committee
Officers’ Reports
Senior Officers ensure that some reports, such as these, are only referred to in Officer Reports to Council Committees.
By following this practice the Officers “cherry pick” specific extracts from the Original reports that will not cause them to have to answer any potential awkward questions.
The Officers also make sweeping statements like “everything is fine”. When, in actual fact, everything is not fine.
My Observations and Comments on this Officer’s report.
The Text of the Officer’s Report (including my Comments in red)
Link to Officer’s Report
Update on Whistleblowing arrangements related to Safeguarding
1.0 SUMMARY OF THE REPORT
1.1 This report is to provide Council with information regards an update on the whistleblowing arrangements related to Safeguarding.
1.2 Following correspondence received by Welsh Audit Office (WAO) in September 2018, they undertook a review in the period January to March 2019.
1.3 In August 2019 there were two reviews – a review of Corporate Arrangements for Safeguarding and a Review of whistleblowing arrangements relating to safeguarding.
The initial audits were linked to a national piece of work across all 22 local authorities which was linked to a previous safeguarding audit in 2015.
1.3 above is incorrect
The Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council was not linked to any other national piece of work across all 22 local authorities.
The Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding was published in response to a complaint submitted to the WAO by Chris Jones (CJ) – Senior HR Officer (Whistleblower)
The Report was issued to the Council and the Complainant in August 2019.
This Report is not available to the public on the Audit Wales publications website.
2.1 A question was raised at Council in July 2023 “When will the WAO Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council be considered by the Full Council”.
2.2 Councillor Jenkins in her role as Cabinet Member for Social Services responded to the question and highlighted the outcomes to the recommendations made from the audits in 2019.
2.3 Reports were considered at Standards Committee (November 2019) Governance and Audit Committee (November 2020) and Social Services Scrutiny (February 2021) in respect of Whistleblowing. A report was also received by Cabinet in July 2021 outlining progress against the audit recommendations.
I must point out that none of the above provides an answer to the question.
The Officer reports that were provided to these Committees did not include a copy of the Original Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council.
2.4 A question has also been listed for September 2023 Council ‘Has the WAO Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council ever been considered and discussed at any official Council Meeting?’ which I hope the following information answers.
Suffice to say, for now, that it does not answer the questions. More on that later.
3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REVIEW OF WHISTLEBLOWING ARRANGEMENTS RELATING TO SAFEGUARDING
3.1 There were four areas for improvement listed within the report.
Without seeing the actual report there is no explanation for why these areas of improvement were required.
These were as follows:
The Council should ensure that there are accurate and timely records of all meetings relating to safeguarding enquiries, ensuring that these minutes include the reasons for any decisions in accordance with current Welsh Government guidance.
The reasons for this proposal were because the Council did not ensure that there were accurate and timely records of all Safeguarding Strategy Meeting relating to safeguarding enquiries and ensuring that these minutes include the reasons for any decisions in accordance with current Welsh Government Guidance.
The Council should ensure that its staff are familiar with its whistleblowing policy and procedures, and that any concerns raised by staff should be recorded and a written response should be sent to the whistleblower in accordance with the Council’s policy.
The reasons for this proposal were because the Council did not ensure that its staff were familiar with its Whistleblowing Policy and Procedures, and did not ensure that any concerns raised by staff were recorded and that a written response was sent to the Whistleblower in accordance with the Council’s Policy.
The Council should re-affirm with relevant staff the circumstances in which a school’s governing body should commission an independent investigation in relation to a safeguarding allegation against a member of the school’s staff.
The reasons for this proposal are because the Council had not ensured with relevant staff the circumstances in which a School’s Governing Body should commission an independent investigation in relation to a safeguarding allegation against a member of the school staff.
Had this been the case, there would have been no need for the Head Teacher to have colluded with 4 other Heads to issue an ultimatum to the LA to dismiss the Whistleblower because there would have been an understanding of the role of the Senior HR Officer in advising the Chair of Governors of the need to CONSIDER the need for an independent investigation into the allegation.
The Head Teacher would not then have wrongly assumed that the advice provided was that an investigation into her involvement in the alleged safeguarding incident was being recommended.
It would appear that the Heads had no understanding of the role of CJ as part of the HR SLA.
His role was not to be SUPPORTIVE, it was to offer HR ADVICE.
CJ also had to ENSURE, on behalf of the LA, that the schools acted within the appropriate Employment Law rules and LA policies and procedures.
The Head stated that she expected CJ to support her against unfounded allegations that the police were not prepared to continue with and not to PUSH her Chair of Governors down a route to have her investigated.
To clarify this comment I must state that the police chose not to proceed with their investigation because it was not felt that a crime had been committed.
That fact is irrelevant to the Welsh Government Rules and Regulations regarding Safeguarding of School Children or to the LA Policies and Procedures and, indeed, to the school’s regulations.
The Council should ensure that: it retains sufficient centrally funded HR capacity to fulfil its statutory duties in relation to schools; and in consultation with schools, reviews the Service Level Agreement governing the sale of HR services so that it reflects the needs of schools as customers.
Fran Donnelly , HR Manager confirmed, in her witness statement for the SOSR investigation, her awareness of the fact that working with advising schools was a complex area which required a certain amount of expert knowledge and knowledge of policies and procedures and terms and conditions that the teachers are on.
She went on to state that Chris Jones (CJ) was the only one within the HR team to possess this knowledge.
She then stated that the strategic and professional advice role within the department was vital.
It is also worth noting that the Head Teacher of Ynysowen Primary School was not interviewed as part of the SOSR investigation.
The only comments considered by the SOSR relating to the Head’s involvement in the process of demanding that the LA dismiss CJ were those third party comments relayed by FD in her written statement. So, only anecdotal.
So, it was recognised and accepted that CJ was the only HR person in the team with the necessary experience and expertise to do the required job.
That being the case, the question that begs to be asked and answered is why did Carys Kennedy decide that a SOSR investigation needed to carried out on such a valuable and experienced member of the HR team. Surely, she should have been aware that CJ’s advice to the Chair of Governors of events would have been as he had stated.
Three of the Schools that withdrew from the LA HR SLA have still not returned to the LA’s HR support service.
There is no sign of any review of any consultation with the schools on the SLA.
At a meeting of the Full Council held on Wednesday 8th February 2023 the Council resolved to approve the New Whistleblowing Policy.
3.2 Each improvement listed has been actioned and responses provided to WAO.
These are as follows:
The Council provide accurate and timely records of all meetings relating to safeguarding enquiries and the minutes of such meetings include the reasons for any decisions made. We have administrators within the safeguarding unit who have received safeguarding training and are very experienced to carry out this piece of work.
Not for the Safeguarding Strategy Meetings at Ynysowen Primary School.
The whistleblowing policy has been discussed and reviewed, and again recently presented to Council in June 2023. The policy and procedures have been shared with staff members. Any concerns raised by staff have been recorded and written responses provided.
No independent investigation was made regarding the Safeguarding failures at Ynysowen Primary School
Having a Robust Whistleblowing Policy is one thing. Actually putting the Policy into practice is another thing
If an independent investigation is required, then this is discussed within the professional concerns meetings and the decision recorded.
In respect of schools, WG have developed a whistleblowing policy which has been shared with all Governing Bodies – this policy is one that needs to be reviewed and accepted on an annual basis.
In relation to the HR recommendations, there is sufficient capacity to fulfil its statutory duties with schools.
Fran Donnelly, HR Manager at the time, did not agree with that in her statement for the fabricated SOSR investigation.
Also, regular SLA questionnaires are undertaken to ensure the service provided is reviewed. Consultation takes place to ensure any changes are implemented and the agreement reviewed.
What about the schools that do not contract to the LA’s SLA for HR Support? Ynysowen Primary School, for example.
More Posts
Sarah Bowen – Inclusion Manager and Lead Child Protection Officer (Education) and major player in the Cover-up of Weaknesses in Safeguarding Practices at Merthyr Council
Rosemary Lazell, Chair of Governors, and Simone Roden, Head Teacher, of Ynysowen Primary School. Saints or Sinners
MORE SAFEGUARDING FAILURE POSTS
If you were the Monitoring Officer of a local authority, this is one example of how you would misinform and mislead your Councillors and their electorate.
Screenshots of clarification The post-meeting clarification The statement on this post-meeting clarification added to the Agenda for the Full Council Meeting held on 12th November 2025 is a blatant effort by the Council’s Democratic Services Department, led by the Monitoring Officer, to misinform the Councillors and the electorate of Merthyr Council, regarding the suppression of…
Keep readingWhen is a door not a door?
When it’s ajar. When is a suppressed Welsh Audit Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council not a suppressed Welsh Audit Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council? When it has been presented to a Council Committee for consideration and discussion. The following…
Keep reading
Nepotism, Bullying And Cronyism – Gwynedd Council. So similar to the Cover-up of Safeguarding failures at Merthyr Council.
The following is a post from the blogger L18in. Councillor Beca Brown presented a notice of motion re Neil Foden to a full council meeting of cyngor Gwynedd on the 4th December, 2025. The motion can be found in the agenda pack for the meeting – https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//mgChooseDocPack.aspx?ID=5505 There were also 6 questions put to the council…
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Merthyr Council Cover-up 