A COLLEGE apologised to an autistic student after it removed their work during an art display, a report from the Public Services Ombudsman has found.
A report revealed that enquiries to the ombudsman increased by 37 per cent in the last year, largely due to a widening of the office's remit to include complaints about the actions of the school boards of governors.
The nursery, primary, secondary and third level sectors are now all covered.
Complaints concerned issues including special educational needs cases, the handling of allegations of bullying and the provision of child protection and support services.
The report revealed the ombudsman received a complaint from the mother of an autistic student whose artwork folder and sculpture were both moved behind a screen during an art display.
Attempts by Northern Regional College and the complainant to resolve the issue had failed. Following enquiries by the ombudsman, the principal accepted failures over what happened, and agreed that an apology would be issued.
In another case, the board of governors of a primary school complained about issues relating to an inspection, in which it felt there had been "overly negative feedback" that "impacted on teaching performances during the inspection".
Ombudsman Marie Anderson found that without contemporaneous notes of the exchanges between inspectors and teaching staff, she was unable to conclude whether the tone was overly negative.
Although school complaints were significant, the health and social care sector attracted the largest number.
