Why we are consulting on making it a requirement for instructors to display their badge

Driving instructor and his pupil taking a driving lesson

Today we launched our consultation which aims to encourage learner drivers to be properly prepared for their driving test and get their views on what information they and their parents would find useful when choosing an instructor. 

One of the proposals will make it a legal requirement for ADIs and trainees to display their registration certificates and trainee licence – often known as the badge for approved instructors – in their car windscreen when they bring their pupils for a driving test.

In this blog post I’ll explain the reasons why we are consulting on this, explain the benefits of these changes to you, update you on how our ADI engagement calls are going and outline another consultation proposal to give learner drivers better information about instructors.

Reasons for the proposal

As you know, we’ve changed our approach for ADI standard checks by prioritising instructors who most need support to improve the quality of their training.

We use data from ADIs’ analysis reports to help prioritise which instructors we contact to invite for a standard check. This information is captured from your certificate, which is why it’s so important that you show it on test.

Many of you are doing this already, which we really appreciate, but some instructors aren’t, which is unfair to those of you who do.

We also want to make learners and their parents aware what to look for when they are looking for an instructor and how to check if their chosen instructor has been approved by us.

How ADIs will benefit

The proposal to make displaying an ADI badge in an instructor’s car during a driving test a legal requirement will improve the way we identify and prioritise which instructors we see for standards checks and an engagement call. 

The aim is to help increase the standard of tuition for learner drivers. This in turn will help make sure more candidates are better prepared for taking their test.

We know that many of you guide your pupils if they’re not ready for their test and encourage them to delay it.

Related:  How to book and manage driving and riding tests for your pupils

We’re also aware that you can sometimes be put in a difficult situation as your pupil, or their parents, aren’t willing to listen to your professional advice and go ahead with their test when they’re not ready.

We’re keen to promote the essential work that you do, the importance of listening to your advice and your contribution to road safety. 

The consultation proposal to increase the number of days your pupil will need to wait before booking another test will help you when dealing with these challenges. 

Requiring all ADIs to display their badge will also make it a level playing field for all instructors.

Pupil with their driving instructor

Standards check engagement calls

Our voluntary engagement calls that we make before a standards check have been going really well.

We’ve carried out over 1,300 of these since last October.

We want to work with you to raise driving standards across the industry so together we can improve road safety.

Many of you work independently, so these calls give instructors a chance to talk to an ADI examiner to understand their Driving Test Data Report and identify any areas needing improvement. 

We’ve been really pleased with the feedback we’ve had from instructors.

Here is some of the feedback from instructors who have had these calls:

I personally found the engagement call and Standards Check really helpful. It’s not only shown my strengths but identified where I need to improvement. I now know what to work on in the future so I can continually improve as an ADI.”

“It was good to speak with an examiner and it was particularly useful discussing my analysis report and my performance. I am already starting to think about some of the things we discussed and apply them on my lessons. Thank you.”

“Personally, you made me feel more relaxed going into my standards check and dispersed a lot of myths and untruths that are always bounded around. Some of the links you sent have been a massive help.”

Giving learner drivers better information about instructors

We’re also asking learner drivers and their parents what information they would find useful when choosing an instructor and whether this includes details about their performance.

Related:  Changes to OBS: how they affect driving instructors and businesses

The consultation opens the debate on this matter.  Any measure of performance must be easy for learner drivers to understand.

We will work with ADI National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP) on any proposals in this area following the consultation. 

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