An article about Meridian Primary School in Peacehaven says that school governors have been “slammed” for their inadequacies (The Argus, March 13).

Somewhere along the road Ofsted seems to have lost sight of the fact that school governors are volunteers.

Governors are parents and residents giving up their time freely to put something back into the community and improve the lives of children.

Along with the staff at their schools, they battle parental inertia and a lack of funding, dealing with children who should really have more specialist care. And the only thing that counts for the Government and Ofsted is the data.

Teachers bring so much more to the lives of children than “data”. Most governors are not experienced in education but bring their own life experiences to the governing body and an interest in school life for the children.

As a chair of governors myself at a local school, I know how much time these volunteers give to their schools and it is becoming beyond reasonable.

If Ofsted and East Sussex County Council think “it’s vital to have in place a governing body with the experience and skills required to turn the school around” then governors should be employed on an appropriate salary.

To criticise volunteers in this way is unreasonable and I wouldn’t be surprised if governing bodies walked away in the face of such a lack of appreciation over the time they freely give.

Kathryn Gillott, Peacehaven