Reflections on six years of the National Literacy Strategy in England: an interview with Stephen Anwyll, Director of the NLS 2001–2004

This recorded interview with Stephen Anwyll took place in Summer 2004, just prior to his departure from the post of Director of the National Literacy Strategy to take up a new post. In the interview, Stephen challenges those critics who characterise the Strategy as reductive and mechanistic, but recognises the potential for it to be interpreted in this way if not mediated through knowledgeable and confident teachers. He reflects on how the Strategy has changed and developed over time, and talks about new developments, including greater emphasis on the enjoyment of reading, the importance of encouraging speaking and listening and the recognition of the multiple literacies that children encounter and use. This interview is significant in that it places on public record, for the first time, the detailed views of policy makers at the centre of the NLS concerning the successes and challenges around the implementation and development of the Strategy during the last six years. It was recorded before the results of the 2004 standard assessment tests were known. The transcript below has not been edited into a formal written account. It retains the form of spoken discourse.