That is the only explanation Steve Acklam, chief executive of the School Governors’ One Stop Shop (SGOSS), has for a decline in applications this autumn.

But he remains optimistic that the small charity, largely funded by the Government, will come close to its end-of-year target of recruiting 1,750 business people to fill thousands of co-opted and LEA board vacancies in inner-city schools.

Now approaching its second birthday, the organisation “sells” governorship to companies and their employees, through visits, information, door-to-door leafleting campaigns, involvement of local media and joint working with other organisations such as chambers of commerce and local authorities. The aim is to bring management skills into schools, as well as fill vacancies.

“We are still confident of getting close to our cumulative 1,750 recruits despite the economic downturn, job insecurity, and September 11, all of which appear to have caused people to stop and reassess things. We can think of no other logical explanation for a serious reduction in applications through September into October,” said Mr Acklam.

The One Stop Shop currently has 1,424 wannabe governors on its books. More detailed breakdowns of data covering the period up to October show it has made steady progress in attracting applications - up from 761 in February.

The number of candidates actually serving on a governing body or matched to a school also increased, from 384 in February to 607 in October. However, matched or serving candidates as a percentage of the total number recruited declined slightly from 50 to 46 per cent. On the basis of more recent figures, SGOSS claims around 58 per cent are matched, serving, or waiting for a vacancy in a preferred borough.

However, the data also show the massive task ahead of the organisation. In London in October, there were 1,360 LEA and co-opted governor vacancies. SGOSS had 460 candidates on its books - a third of the total needed. In Birmingham, Bradford, Knowsley, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Rotherham, Salford and Sheffield - the other areas it has worked in for all its nearly two-year existence - there were 1,885 vacancies. SGOSS had 361 candidates available - less than a fifth of the total needed.

And the costs of recruiting and placing business governors through One Stop Shop remains high. In a written parliamentary question, education minister Stephen Timms said they were running at pound;840.70 for candidates placed with schools, and pound;290.70 for those “on the books”.

LEA officers responsible for recruiting and training governors cast envious eyes at the organisation’s budget: “If we had the same resources as SGOSS has, we might be able to do a bit better,” said one.

It is also taking about three months to place new recruits. An evaluation of the organisation’s first year noted that this was much longer than had been anticipated. SGOSS hoped to have people at least in contact with a prospective school within six weeks, but barely 40 per cent were: the summer holidays and the infrequency of full governing body meetings in schools, at which co-options can be considered, has put paid to that ambition.

The same evaluation, carried out by Dr Anne Punter and Jo Neale, of Luton University, found only 6 per cent of candidates were from minority ethnic groups. However, SGOSS says its own data put the figure nearer 15 per cent, better reflecting the composition of its inner-city target areas.

And it has done well in placing governors in the most needy schools, according to the Luton team; a fifth of candidates were in failing schools or ones with serious weaknesses.

See www.schoolgovernors-oss.co.uk or telephone 0870 241 3883 for more information