An online match-making service to connect schools with governors has been launched by the National Governors’ Association.

The Inspiring Governance service will allow individuals to register their skills, giving governing boards the chance to find suitable volunteers.

A recently published survey by the NGA and TES found that 61 per cent of governing boards had difficulty attracting new recruits.

“The quality of governors and trustees has a significant influence on schools and the achievements of children and young people,” said Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of ASCL. “Every school, in every part of the country, deserves to have a high-quality governing board, ready to both support school leaders and hold them to account.”

Supporting new governors

The new Inspiring Governance service also provides free support for volunteers and governing boards as well as employers wanting to run volunteering programmes for staff who are interested in becoming governors.

More than 3,000 volunteers have already signed up online. Hands-on support is also available where it is not possible to make matches online.

“It’s essential that we do more to attract talented and committed volunteers to school governance,” Lord Nash, schools minister, said. “That’s why we are supporting [the charity] Education and Employers and the National Governors’ Association to revolutionise the way people can get involved in governance and be supported in the role once they’re in place.”

Emma Knights, chief executive of the NGA, said school governance was “very challenging but also extremely rewarding”. She added: “Being a governor or trustee is not about doing a “good day’s work” but about making an impact over a number of years.”

Inspiring Governance is run by the charity Education and Employers in partnership with the NGA and other key partners. It is funded by the Department for Education until 2020.

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