This narrative provides an account of one English HOD’s response to a perceived sense that the English curriculum (in England) has become increasingly atomised by a determination to reduce it to a neat set of discrete learning objectives. The narrative argues that this atomisation can cause problems for teachers in approaching the teaching of writing and responding to texts. It also suggests that such atomisation, reflected in high stakes assessment practices, may be providing misleading information on standards of student performance and adversely affecting practices in classrooms.