Over-monitoring and top-down accountability can be a real drain on schools – time, energy and commitment. My approach to sensible school self-review can save time, empower leaders at all levels, gain trust and make sure schools are collecting the evidence they need – not evidence of everything! Starting with a review of what schools do, looking at school priorities, and then designing a sensible school review schedule aligned to those priorities, which engages all stakeholders and trusts teams at all levels, a more sensible approach can be taken.