Before becoming a teacher, I never understood the concept of governance in schools. I was in the army and my wife - a headteacher - would come home talking about “governor meetings”. I just did not get it.

Here were a group of people who were expected to be knowledgeable across a vast array of education matters, to attend training to improve that knowledge, to bear responsibility for a school and to do so voluntarily, in their own time, without pay. Who would do that?

I found it bizarre. I remember likening it to me turning up at British Telecom and challenging them on their performance and providing a balanced view. I don’t know anything about telephone engineering. But, hey, I can go on a course and learn about it…

Fast forward 16 years and I am now a headteacher. I find myself with a quite a remarkable skill set across my governing body: a journalist, a judge, a retired secondary headteacher, a secondary headteacher, a business manager of a secondary school and more.

I consider myself to be very blessed, because they do all understand education. There’s no guessing. I get now what I did not back before I entered the profession. I understand the crucial role governors can play in ensuring a school can thrive. If they are the right governors.

You see, I worry. I know that my governing body is not the norm. I see the impact these volunteers make to my school and I recognise that many other schools do not have that input. In these times of intense accountability, that makes me wonder how level the playing field is between schools.

Lack of applicants

I know many schools who are desperately seeking to recruit governors who can firstly provide the precious skill sets and, secondly, the time to support and challenge their school to bring about the best outcomes for children. These individuals are unique and very few and far between.

So many schools miss out. They are left without the skills I am fortunate enough to have, and thus they are at a disadvantage, one that is not officially recognised by government.

That has to change. As much as training can help governors without an education background understand what they are dealing with in a school, there needs to be at least one - preferably more - educational professional on every governing body.

So how about a statutory requirement for senior leaders to be part of governing bodies outside of their locality? It’s a plan that is rough around the edges I know, with a few loopholes that need to be tidied up (not least that leader’s employer enabling time for the leader to be on the governing body), but the impact such a move would have would be massive.

Matt Middlemore is the headteacher of Tregolls School, Truro. He tweets at @Matt_Middlemore