We are living in an era of unprecedented accountability in public services, and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of education. Ofsted judgements, performance tables, parent view, social media - all place the performance of schools and school leaders under the microscope, and the consequences of perceived failure are increasingly high. We are seeing the impact of this clearly in raised stress levels, recruitment difficulties and very high rates of attrition for those in the most challenging roles. In this article, I examine the problem and suggestions ways that a system of high accountability does not have to take this toll on those who work in it.