The last twenty years have seen continual change in the education system, much of which has been poorly planned, ideologically driven, lacking in coherence and without an evidence base. The key aspects of accountability, school governance and structure, curriculum and assessment and teacher training and development are critiqued (reviewed) from the perspective of the leaders of a school in East London, and an alternative strategy is articulated addressing these issues but based on a much greater degree of trust, and rooted in research and evidence.