Gwynedd head teacher Neil Foden 'victimised staff'
- Published
Headteacher Neil Foden faces three allegations of unacceptable professional misconduct
The head teacher of a north Wales comprehensive school "victimised" staff who were not part of "his gang", a professional conduct panel has heard.
Neil Foden, head of Ysgol Friars in Bangor, faces three allegations of unacceptable professional conduct towards teaching staff.
The Education Workforce Council hearing, held in Ewloe, Flintshire, heard Mr Foden had told governors one teacher was "known to police".
Mr Foden denies all the allegations.
The allegations relate to separate incidents at the Gwynedd school between April 2014 and October 2016.
Mr Foden is accused of providing a reference for a teacher in which he said his employee was facing an allegation of malpractice, when in fact the teacher had been cleared.
Ysgol Friars is in Bangor, Gwynedd
He is also accused of singling out another teacher for disciplinary proceedings after a school trip was cancelled, and then referring to that teacher as "baby face" in conversations with the chair of governors.
Later that year, he told a meeting of governors the same teacher was "known to the police".
Giving evidence on Monday, a teacher known only as "person D" said Mr Foden had started disciplinary procedures against him over the way he had handled a disruptive pupil during an exam.
The biology teacher, who worked at the school between 2010 and 2018, was later cleared on appeal.
'Felt victimised'
"I felt victimised by Neil Foden due to the way he operated. You were either in his gang or you were not," person D told the panel.
He claimed he was never interviewed by school governors and that Mr Foden's daughter had investigated the allegations against him.
He added Mr Foden's attitude towards him had changed in 2014 when he challenged the way the school was recording assessment results.
Neil Foden denies all the allegations.
His solicitor Jonathan Storey told the hearing his client was a head teacher of "unusual distinction and experience who has led his school for more than two decades".