It has been argued (e.g. Coffield and Williamson 2012) that schoolteachers in England currently work in a climate of fear. Drawing on interviews and observations, this paper identifies four kinds of fear that might impact negatively on teachers’ lives and work: fear of material reprisals should their efforts be deemed by government to be inadequate; fear of negative consequences for themselves or their students if they resist or subvert often unpalatable government policy; fear that aspects of government policy itself might be damaging to their students; and the less-talked-about fear of being perceived negatively or critically by colleagues, students or parents. The paper explores how rationalised, ‘documentalised’ education policy ignores such fears and their effects, while simultaneously relying on their existence for its successful implementation. In investigating the interrelations of fear and policy implementation, and in suggesting what forms resistance might take, the analysis uses perspectives from Lacanian psychoanalytic theory related to imaginary and symbolic identification, elements of Bernstein’s sociological theory regarding ‘competence’ and ‘performance’, and Guattari’s conceptualisations of ‘group subjects’ and ‘subject[ed] groups’. Reference Coffield F. & Williamson B. (2011) From Exam Factories to Communities of Discovery London: Institute of Education University of London Bedford Way Papers