The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) published the ‘National standard for driver and rider training’ in 2011. It sets out the skills, knowledge and understanding that you need to be an effective trainer.

The new check will assess how well you meet the standard, which is why it’s being called a ‘standards check’.

New standards check

DSA wants the examiner to assess whether your instruction helps a person to learn in an effective way. DSA proposes to no longer offer role play when the new standards check starts.

As the examiner will assess whether your instruction helps a person to learn in an effective way, you can best show this by giving a normal lesson to a real pupil.

Pupils you can bring

You already have the flexibility to bring a range of pupils from a learner to a full licence holder seeking development. However, the pupil must not:

• be an ADI
• have passed the ADI part 2 test

Fleet instructors

As the fleet register is an extension of the ADI register, the ADI standards check will be enough for fleet instructors to stay on the fleet register.

New assessment form

There’ll be a new assessment form which will have 3 assessment areas:

• lesson planning
• risk management
• teaching and learning strategies

The form will give you clear and specific feedback about your strengths and areas where you can develop your competence.

Booking standards checks

The proposed consultation on modernising driver training will ask for views on making the standards check booking process fairer.

Options include:

• an online booking facility
• whether you should pay a separate fee for the standards check

A separate fee would be in line with the government’s ‘user pays’ principle. The current registration fee would be reduced by the amount of the standards check fee.