Neoliberal approaches to education policy have led to increases in teacher and student accountability, a preference for evidence-informed measurable outcomes and the standardisation of teaching and learning. Judgements of quality teaching and teacher practice are increasingly focused narrowly on students' testable knowledge and skills. This is redefining the work of English teachers and their development. Increased regulation threatens English teachers' agency and professionalism, possibly resulting in feelings of despondency and demoralisation. This is particularly poignant for early career English teachers (those in their first five years of teaching), as they begin work in a system that is systematically debasing their professionalism in favour of managerial practices that focus on outcomes, efficiency and performance. This article reports on the ways one early career English teacher is working in her classroom to speak back to the structures and systems of governments and schools to teach her way.