DVSA Part 3, Standards Check, Part 2 Driving Tests with Graham Hooper, ORDIT trainer, Coach & Mentor

Why the Standard matters beyond the test

Every ADI’s training is built, whether they’ve read it cover to cover or not, on a single document: the National Standard for Driver and Rider Training. It sets out what an instructor must be able to do, and what they must know and understand, to deliver a genuine programme of learning rather than just get somebody through a test. It’s also, directly, what a Standards Check assesses you against.

This series works through that document unit by unit, translating each one into what it actually looks like in an ordinary lesson, on an ordinary Tuesday evening, with an ordinary pupil.

Nothing in the Standard should feel unfamiliar if you’re already a competent, client-centred instructor. Most of what follows describes things good instructors already do by feel. The value in going through it explicitly is being able to recognise your own practice in the language of the Standard, so you can explain it, defend it, and improve it deliberately, rather than only doing it well by instinct.

What the Series Covers

1. Unit 1: Legal Requirements, You and the Vehicle
2. Unit 2: Designing a Learning Programme Around the Client
3. Unit 3a: Creating a Climate That Promotes Learning
4. Unit 3b: Explain and Demonstrate
5. Unit 3c: Coaching
6. Unit 3d: Facilitating Group-Based Learning
7. Unit 4a: Managing On-Road Risk
8. Unit 4b: Managing Aggression and Violence
9. Unit 4c: Health and Safety in the Classroom
10. Unit 5: Evaluating and Developing Your Own Practice
11. Unit 6: Role Play for Trainee Instructors
12. Summary

Unit 3, client-centred learning itself, is split into four articles rather than one, because the Standard treats it that way for good reason: creating the right climate, explaining and demonstrating well, coaching, and working with groups are four distinct skills that happen to work together, not one skill with four names.

How to Use It

Each article stands on its own, so dip in wherever’s most relevant to your own CPD needs. But read with a specific pupil or a specific lesson in mind wherever you can. The Standard is written in fairly formal, generalised language, performance standards, knowledge and understanding requirements, and it’s easy to read it as abstract policy rather than what it actually is: a description of specific, recognisable moments in the car with somebody who’s learning to drive.

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Next in the series: Unit 1, Legal Requirements, covering what you need to confirm about yourself and the vehicle before any training can legally begin.