Most school governing bodies are ineffective, their members in thrall to head teachers, according to an education union.

Companies should be obliged to give governors paid time off to enable them to focus on their duties as with jury service and to be trained, the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers says. A resolution tabled for this week’s annual conference calls for the Government to review the system, declaring that “the majority of governing bodies are not fit for purpose and are failing to provide the appropriate balance of challenge to and support for head teachers”.

There is a wealth of evidence to suggest that governors are ineffective in curtailing the excesses of some head teachers, the union says. With schools becoming increasingly autonomous, running a governing body is an “inappropriate responsibility to vest in a group of well-meaning volunteers”.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the union, said that many governors did not know what was expected of them. They were unaware of responsibilities such as ensuring that the school abided by health and safety or equality legislation, and often rubber-stamped budgets drawn up by the head teacher. “Often they don’t have the knowledge or information to do anything but listen to the head,” she said.

“In secondary schools, governing bodies often have a range of professionals, such as accountants and lawyers, but even they don’t provide the proper balance to head teachers. Primary schools often can’t fill places on their governing bodies.”

Ms Keates said that schools were unable to compel governors to be trained, as they were volunteers, normally with little spare time.

One suggestion by the union is that schools in a locality might set up an umbrella governing body. This would help to prevent governors from becoming too close to any one head teacher, Ms Keates said. “It would create some distance, so they don’t feel they have to be loyal to the head. Often, when we’re dealing with disciplinary issues, the governing body will say it can’t be seen to undermine the head.”

Steve Acklam, of the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop, which seeks to match schools with potential governors, said that misconceptions about the role of governor made recruitment difficult: “People think you have to be middle-aged; they think you need special skills, or that the responsibilities will be time-consuming.” He disputed that heads steamrollered governors, saying that plenty of governing bodies were strong-willed.

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