According to former students, small children at an educational referral unit had to eat dog biscuits off the floor.
After being hit with “rock-solid” footballs, one person developed a dread of the game, and another had a pint of blackcurrant juice thrown over her head.
They further claim that this was enjoyable for the personnel and wasn’t even punishment. Some students at Canolfan Brynffynnon in Y Felinheli might anticipate being kept in a dark lavatory or having their noses flicked until they bled as a form of discipline.
While two former employees who were reportedly engaged have vehemently rejected the accusations, Cyngor Gwynedd acknowledged that abuse had occurred and apologised to the victims.
Solicitor Katherine Yates stated that 21 individuals are actively pursuing claims, including Rhiannon Evans, who was ten years old when she was transported, and Levi Lewis, who was four.
Two have reached a £10,000 settlement with the local government for alleged mistreatment by employees.
She claims that the present case comes “hot on the heels” of the imprisonment of paedophile headmaster Neil Foden and is advocating for a public investigation into the council’s management of schools.
Rhiannon, now 27, stated, “Every day there was something going on, from kids being forced to eat dog biscuits from a floor to kids being dragged down a corridor.”
I do recall an instance in which they told me to eat a biscuit that had been thrown to the ground.
I can still picture the exact biscuit. It was a chocolate biscuit with Bourbon flavour.
Canolfan Brynffynnon closed in 2014 because staff members were accused of abusing students.
Six years had passed since Rhiannon from Caernarfon was transferred there due to “behavioural issues” at her elementary school.
She attributes it to being bullied since her life was “different to everyone else’s” and she was fostered by her grandparents.
However, Rhiannon reported “feeling like a peasant” as soon as she got at Brynffynnon, when a staff worker doused her head with a pint of blackcurrant juice “just for their amusement.”
She remarked, “I was sticky all afternoon.”
I went home after smelling all afternoon, and my grandmother immediately gave me a bath.
However, the scent of blackcurrant juice persisted for several days.
Children who made improvement in the unit were permitted to begin returning to their primary school, according to Rhiannon.
They were penalised upon their return to Brynffynnon, though, if they received negative reviews there.
And that might result from being locked in a lavatory with the lights off’, Rhiannon continued.
They would then kick footballs—like solid, rock-hard footballs—at our heads after stacking tires on top of us so that only our heads were visible.”
She describes herself as “an innocent child serving a prison sentence” and claims that discussing it makes the pain return.
Even now, watching a kid play football in the street or just preparing a drink might bring up sad memories.
She further stated: “I don’t think that damage can ever be undone – ever.”
Unfortunately, the emotional damage will never go away.
Rhiannon was given a two-year restraining order from contacting her boyfriend’s ex-partner after she admitted to engaging in behaviour that amounted to harassment last year.
She stated: “I made a mistake which I now regret.”
I realise now that I didn’t always make the greatest choices as an adult because of my difficult upbringing.
Levi Lewis, who stayed at the unit until its closure in 2014, continues to experience “panic attacks, anxiety, and trust issues,” according to the image caption.
Levi Lewis, who is now 21, said the school was fine throughout the first few months.I guess it appeared to be a typical school,” he remarked.
Then things began to happen. Being forced to eat dog biscuits is the first thing I can recall, and things only got worse from there.
Every time I see them in the store, I become nauseous because I can still recall their shape, colour, and everything.”
When Levi was brought there from nursery in 2009, he was four years old. He stayed there until the facility closed in 2014.
He described his actions as “disruptive and loud” as the reason.
Bangor resident Levi attributed it to external ADHD, which he didn’t receive a diagnosis for until after leaving Brynffynnon.
He talked about being held in a dark lavatory for “hours and hours” and dragged down a hallway by his hair, but the punishments got worse.
Levi explained, “If I misbehaved, they would take me to the office, sometimes just in front of people in the classroom, and they would flick my nose so hard that it just started pouring with blood.”I still experience sporadic nasal bleeding.
He had knuckles pressed into his head and was terrified of footballs after being thrown at him.
He continued, “I still occasionally have night terrors.”Although they are rare, they do occur. They would occur nearly every night when I was eleven or twelve years old. I would wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare about whatever they had done to me.
I’ve managed to deal with them, but I doubt I’ll ever be free of them.”
Levi doesn’t think kids in Gwynedd are secure.
Due to his treatment, Levi Lewis was afraid of footballs.
Charges of child abuse against two former Brynffynnon employees were dropped in 2016.
Together, the two guys were initially charged with fifty offences.
But according to North Wales Police, “the Crown Prosecutor reviewed all available information, and decided that the case no longer met the threshold for a criminal trial to proceed” when more evidence was gathered.
Prosecutors must establish a case in a criminal court beyond a reasonable doubt.
On the balance of probabilities, less proof is needed in a legal lawsuit for damages.
The two men pointed to the criminal case’s termination while continuing to refute the accusations.
In a different case, paedophile head teacher Neil Foden was convicted of sexually abusing four girls over a four-year period and sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2024.
A probe later revealed that Foden had over 50 opportunities to intervene and stop him while he was in charge of two other Gwynedd schools.
Some of Foden’s victims are also represented by Rhiannon and Levi’s attorney, Katherine Yates.
“I think we need a public inquiry,” she declared.Canolfan Brynffynnon isn’t quite unique. It follows closely after the Neil Foden case.
Who knows what else might surface? How many more skeletons are rattling around in the cabinets?Gwynedd shouldn’t be grading its own assignments, in my opinion. I believe we need to understand what went wrong, why it happened, who is at fault, and what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
According to Ms. Yates, she is now representing 21 plaintiffs.
Nine of the ten formal allegations that Cyngor Gwynedd has received have been resolved.
The council acknowledged that “pupils had been subjected to abuse,” stating: “No child should have to suffer abuse of any kind, and although these cases go back several years, we extend our sympathies to the victims and apologise to them.”
It further stated: “A new review looking at the action taken at that time has already been commissioned by the council to ensure that any lessons learned at the time continue to be implemented today.”
By now, every facet of Gwynedd’s child protection policies has been thoroughly examined and reinforced in accordance with the suggestions made in the 2025 report Our Bravery Brought Justice, external.
A spokesman said in some situations “compensation claims may be agreed upon so that victims can avoid unnecessary court processes” and “independent insurers are responsible for investigating compensation claims and for deciding their next steps, in accordance with the law”.
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