THE GOVERNING body of a school is what makes it tick, solving day-to-day problems as much as developing long-term policies to improve the education its pupils get.

Without governors, Ofsted inspections would be failed, staffing problems could get out of hand and building repairs would stack up.

That is why it is vital that Swindon Council is able to find the right people to take on the job of the Local Education Authority's representatives on governing bodies at schools across the borough.

There are currently 28 vacancies for LEA governors and the council is eager to recruit people.

Councillor Chris Eley, lead member for Lifelong Learning, says people are often put off by the responsibility of the job.

He said: "We're having trouble recruiting governors of all types, but particularly LEA governors.

"People often don't know what is involved and it can seem quite daunting, because essentially you are helping to run what is a medium to large sized company and that carries a lot of responsibility.

"But that is manageable and, as long as people are willing to learn and work as part of a team, they don't need any specific skills.

"My role is to continually remind members of these vacancies, because we are keen to fill these gaps as soon as possible.

"It has got to the point where my friends avoid me because they know I'm going to try to convince them to become a governor," he joked.

The vacancies inevitably leave other members of governing bodies especially those at smaller schools under greater pressure.

There is a mountain of paperwork to get through, which is shared between the governors on committees.

But new governors are not just thrown in at the deep end they receive full training and support.

Once selected for appointment by the council, a governor attends about nine meetings a year, with any extra work depending on the school and the individual. Many balance the job with a full time career.

They are appointed on four-year contracts, which explains why there are so many vacancies now, as nearly 50 governors' contracts ran out this year and of those 20 decided they had served their time.

The remaining eight vacancies stretch back to previous years.

At full strength there should be 265 governors across the borough, although there are almost always about 15 unfilled positions.

The schools in particular need include Penhill and Nythe, which are both two governors short, and Nylands Special School, which has only one of three LEA governor positions filled.

It is often even harder to find governors for special schools, as the responsibility is seen as greater.

Coun Eley said: "Governing bodies are vital. Often, when a school is having problems, there are issues associated with the governing body. Good governors are often critical friends and good schools always have effective governors.

"I would say to anyone considering volunteering that if you want to put something back into the community and really make a difference, being a school governor is a way to do that."

Anyone interested should contact either their local councillor, the chairman of governors or headteacher of any Swindon Council maintained school, or Swindon's Governor Support Service on Swindon 463875.