The Chair of Governors at Ysgol Robert Owen has stepped down after years of widespread allegations of a culture of bullying and negligence at the Newtown Additional Learning Needs (ALN) school.
Meanwhile, the headteacher is not expected to return to work, said the Cedewain Victims Group, which is called after the school’s former name.
This press release was covered in an article by MyNewtown, 9 October 2025, which can be found here.
The news was also published in Nation.Cymru, 3 October 2025, here.
From September 2022, several dozen current and former teachers, staff, and parents alleged that the headteacher, “Continued to act in an egregious manner to implement changes in such a way as to cause detriment to the school and pupils, and cause many staff to resign, retire or go on long-term sick leave because of his threatening behaviour”, as recounted in a 2024 letter to the chief executive of Powys County Council.
January 2025 saw members of the National Education Union ballot to strike following redundancy proposals. Having seen a budget surplus under the previous leadership turned into a deficit, Cedewain Victims Group claimed that the significant shortfall was not helped by staff being signed off on paid sick leave, unable to continue working under the headteacher. They claimed that the possible existence of potentially costly COT3 agreements, or other departure arrangements, further drained the school’s local authority delegated budget.
By September 2025, with most teachers having moved to the NASUWT union, there were fresh plans to strike and a separate effort by the GMB union to launch an out-of-county investigation into the allegations.
Steve Witherden, MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, began liaising with affected constituents after taking office, followed by making representations to the council having dealt with similar cases as a previous President of NASUWT Cymru.
After failing to be convinced by the council’s tenacity in dealing with the serious and sustained allegations, Mr Witherden raised the issue with the Welsh Government, the Education Workforce Council, and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, before publicly calling for the allegations to be independently investigated.
The long-running controversy is emblematic of wider problems with Powys County Council’s handling of its education portfolio, with a significant financial deficit and a highly critical Estyn report in March of this year.
Two job advertisements for the headteacher position appeared over the summer, featuring a line stating that any successful applicant would require a thorough handover from the current headteacher, sparking further allegations of a cover-up.
A spokesperson for the Cedewain Victims Group commented: “Staff working under duress, those pushing for justice, they should hold onto the fact that Cedewain (as was) was a very, very special place but really it is simply about the children. They deserve better.
“Dozens of staff both current and ex members have had their lives ruined and yet it appears perpetrators are able to walk away having benefitted financially whilst others have lost out, emotionally, psychologically as well as financially. This cannot be right. Justice needs to be seen to be done.”
Steve Witherden MP commented: “I have dedicated much of my career to standing up for people who are mistreated because they have no voice. I saw many instances of wrongdoing during my time as a trade unionist but none so apparently systematic as this.
“The departure of the headteacher and Chair of Governors will be a small consolation to the many pupils, parents, and staff that suffered years of pain as a result of the culture at Ysgol Robert Owen. I can now only hope the school returns to being the happy and safe place for ALN children that it once was.”