Do you know what the most important element in becoming a Driving Instructor is?
Not the Training. You.
If you work hard, study, practise and follow your trainer’s advice, you will qualify as a Driving Instructor.
The tests are not difficult and most people have many of the skills needed to successfully pass already.
Cut corners or try to avoid the work, and you will become one of many a year that never make it.
The DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) outline the topics you must cover when training to become a Driving Instructor.
Below, we have put together an extremely comprehensive guide covering all of the important aspects about how the DVSA will assess you and what you will cover in your training.
As Part 1 is a very straight forward, common-sense based test, it is completely possible to pass this part with little or no training and many people do try this. Indeed, many instructors would tell you this is the bit you can do by yourself.
We would beg you to NEVER consider this…. Part 1 is so vitally important to get right. So many problems we see in Parts 2 and 3 come from a limited knowledge at Part 1 – Please do part 1 correctly!
Any good trainer will have reference books and training for you to complete as well as the DVSA recommended reference material.
“You should prepare with a professional structured programme of tuition. Preparing for Part-One requires a degree of self-discipline and self-management; this is because you will have to spend quite a lot of time reading and studying. DVSA has compiled the list of books which you may find useful to help you study for the multiple choice part of the theory have been based on information contained in these books.”
Because you only need 85% correct to pass, and because the test is a 4 way multiple choice test, the law of averages states that it is possible to pass this test without any knowledge in the topic and simply guessing! So we ask you the question: Do you want to pass it the test with limited knowledge or do you want to give your self the best possible opportunity to succeed at part 2 and 3 and be the best instructor you can be?
By using a professionally structured course you can ensure you cover all the topics and give yourself the foundation to build your skills.
Part 2 is very straight forward; you are already an experienced driver so the examiner wants to see you demonstrate your understanding and knowledge of driving procedure.
Remember, this is what you are going to teach so you need to practice your skills and study the process of driving.
So how do you train for this?
“To pass the test, you must drive to a high standard of competence, demonstrating the principles of eco-friendly driving, and a well-planned positive, progressive drive, adhering to and attaining national speed limits when safe and where possible.”
Preparing for Part-Two requires self-discipline and self-management as well as driving skill. This is because you will spend time studying and practising the knowledge, understanding and skills.
How many little habits do you think you have? Some of you will have very few; you may have passed an advanced test or be a very good, careful and observant driver.
Some of you will have lots of habits having learnt to drive many years ago so you will need to learn how to practise the correct driving procedures again. How many habits are very small and straight forward to fix with practice?
REMEMBER, practise makes perfect!
Once you have completed all of your preparation practice and coursework, we want one of our SmartDriving Specialist Trainers to spend a day with you.
Any ADI (Approved Driving Instructor) will tell you that when they trained, they studied hard and developed their skills by revising, researching and PRACTISING their skills in addition to any ‘driving lessons’ they had.
The iCoursePro syllabus is broken into easy to follow ‘bite-sized’ sections to help you study, learn and understand. Nothing is left to chance as we cover over 100 hours with a step-by-step approach – created by our experts – using structured video tutorials and visual training systems to develop your knowledge.
Using our practical worksheets and structured exercises to guide you, we will build your skills and ability. Our training team provides UNLIMITED tutor support for Part-Two – we are always ready to help you. Remember, you can practise at times to suit you, and you can repeat the iCourse as often as you like – truly unlimited training and support.
Once you have completed all of your iCoursePro work, one of our SmartDriving Specialist Trainers will spend time with you on-the-road.
Part 3 is very straight forward IF you have completed the first two parts properly.
The examiner will want to see your ability to pass your knowledge onto your pupils, fix faults in their driving, inspire confidence and they will look for evidence that you meet the national standard for driver and rider training.
The examiner will also want to see you deliver your lesson in a ‘client centered’ way.
“As a responsible, professional driving instructor you’ll want learners to have the skills to be safe and responsible drivers for life when they leave you. Sometimes you’ll find that you need to balance this against their aims – they might want to pass the test quickly, and with as little expense as possible. This is not an easy balance to achieve – you may need to persuade your learners of the benefits of not just learning to pass the test.
People learn in different ways and at different speeds. If someone who likes time to reflect on their learning is forced to move on to the next thing too quickly it could slow down their progress. Or if someone who likes to learn by trying things out is made to watch too many demonstrations without having a go they will get frustrated.
Client-centred learning is an approach to learning that takes into account how the learner prefers to learn. When people learn in this way they are more likely to retain information and skills. People are also more likely to keep learning if they are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning at an early stage – this is the second aim of client-centred learning.
How to teach in a client-centred way
At its simplest, this means listening to your learner (the client) to find out how they like to learn, the things that are getting in the way of their progress and how you can help.”
Just as with Parts 1 & 2, Part 3 preparation requires a degree of self-management and self-discipline because you will have to spend quite a lot of time studying and practising.
You’ll be marked on 17 areas of competence that are grouped into 3 categories:
The 17 areas of competence are listed in the ADI part 3 test report form, which the examiner will fill in at the end of your test.
You’ll get a score from 0 to 3 for each of the 17 competencies, which are added up to work out if you’ve passed the test, and what your grade will be.
These 17 competencies cover the range of skills you need to be successful in the Part 3 examination and qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor.
Just as with Parts 1 & 2, Part 3 preparation requires a degree of self-management and self-discipline because you will have to spend quite a lot of time studying and practising.
However our online syllabus, making use of step-by-step videos, breaking these competencies down into small detail and illustrating how they are marked against the and refer to the national standard for driver and rider training and the ADI part 3 test report form, makes the study an revision needed bith enjoyable and easy.
It also means no time is wasted once on the road when practical training starts.
Traditionally, Part 3 has been viewed as a problem area for many students, however this need not be the case. In fact, at SmartDriving, by following the structured iCourse format, Part 3 should now not only be enjoyable, but also the culmination of all your efforts and straight-forward.
Problems typically arise because of poorly delivered in-car training or insufficient study and/or training or simply because the driving school providing the training insisted that the trainee goes onto a ‘Trainee Licence’ when it simply wasn’t the most suitable option for them.
That is why it’s so important to speak to us.
Your training is designed to take 4-9 months. How quickly you progress is determined by many factors such as your availability to study and train, test waiting times and trainer availability. Your course contract with us is for 12 months.
This is to ensure you are able to complete the training and tests and also potentially work on a trainee licence for 6 months and allow for a possible test fail.
The DVSA will make you start the whole process again should you take 2 years from passing your part 1 test – we obviously do not want this to happen!
Our training team provides UNLIMITED tutor support for Part 3 to help you. We are always ready to help. You can practise at times to suit you, and remember that you can repeat iCourse as often as you like. Truly unlimited training and support.
This is the job of the Trainee Licence.
Once the iCoursePro is complete, you will have hours with one of our Specialist Trainers to develop and assess your understanding and knowledge.
In the unlikely event that you fail a test, we provide further training with one of our team and in the even more unlikely event that you should fail three attempts at the Part 3 test, we will provide ret-training at no extra cost to prepare for the process again.
Once you have completed a minimum amount of Part 3 Training, you can now start teaching pupils for real and earn money on the Trainee Licence.
This is the recommended way to prepare for the P3 test. We will discuss this with you in detail.
When you pass the Part 3 Test, you are now a Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency Approved Driving Instructor (DVSA ADI)!
All your hard work has paid off – congratulations!
You are now ready to start work as an ADI!
All the way through the process, we are here to help you.
Follow our advice and complete the training and you WILL become a Driving Instructor.
If at any time you need any help, advice or support, please make use of your unlimited support from our team of experts.
If you are thinking of becoming a driving instructor then I can't rate SmartDriving highly enough.
The training system is excellent the virtual classrooms are enjoyable and very informative and Andrew and the team are always available to answer any queries, not matter how trivial.
Top Team who assisted me greatly in obtaining my ADI Licence.
Richard Hart
The only company ever to win 3 Prestigious Industry awards!
