AT a recent conference for headteachers and governors, I was surprised and disappointed to hear a ripple of applause when a head expressed the opinion that his governors were a waste of his valuable time. He could see little return on his efforts to inform and educate his governing body.

Whatever the ins and outs of his particular case, it is a sad fact that all too often governors are being poorly supported in the difficult job they are required to perform.

As governors, we are sometimes our own worst enemies. We refuse to spend money on our own support, training and development because we think it could be better spent elsewhere within the school. The result is that we carry our heavy burden of responsibility without the necessary backing.

It is no wonder, then, that we see problems with the recruitment and retention of governors, and that heads complain they are producing paperwork for governors with little or no reward.

Both sides need to realise that governors not only deserve but also require the very best support and development opportunities.

An area which has recently come under the spotlight is that of the clerk to the governors. The Department for Education and Skills has recognised that improving the effectiveness of the clerk is key to improving the governing body. It has commissioned a national training programme for clerks, available from next year.

The DfES has also provided pump-priming funding for the new National Association of Governors and Managers’ award for outstanding clerks (see box, right). Also sponsored by The TES, Best Insurance and Toshiba, this award will run on a similar model to the teaching awards. Over the next year, the clerking system will be under the microscope.

The two main routes to clerkdom are through education authority clerking services or schools directly (someone already employed by or known to the school). The former vary in quality depending on the effectiveness of the local education authority and the value it places on this service, and many of the latter could be better described as “minutes secretaries”.

But an effective clerk can bring enormous benefits. Shehe can:

* ease substantially the burden placed on the chair (and head);

* help with the induction and retention of governors;

* keep the governing body on the straight and narrow in legal matters;

* improve relationships and help to build the governing body into a successful team;

* enhance communication within the governing body and between it and others;

* if clerking more than one governing body, offer a wider perspective and spread good practice;

* if needed, redress the balance of power between the head and the governors - in either direction. And all this is in addition to ensuring that business is conducted efficiently and effectively.

Clerks can make a substantial impact on the governing body. But many bodies do not yet have access to the support they need.

We often hear comparisons between governors and lay magistrates. Would the legal system allow its lay practitioners to be supported by a magistrate’s clerk who had no previous experience, undertook no training and whose only qualification was that they lived nearby?

We know that governors are the “also-rans” of the education system. We are often forgotten by DfES officials, ministers and others who refer to heads’

responsibilities when they mean governors’.

We are often overlooked in discussions at both local and national level. And the edifice of support for heads, deputies and team leaders, now provided by the National College for School Leadership, is hardly matched for governors.

LEA governance units do their best but often they are also seen as the “also-rans” in their hierarchy. Governors need effective support. As a first step, an effective, well-qualified and well-paid clerk should not be too much to ask for.

Jane Phillips is chair of the National Association of Governors and Managers, a primary school governor and former clerk