It doesn't sound great when you read that, does it?
Nerves? Poor training? Wrong pupil? Examiner was harsh? Just had a bad day?
It might be all of the above, but one of the biggest reason why we see Part 3 fails, mainly comes down to poor training and not enough self reflection and homework from the instructors.
In all honesty, and in my own opinion, anyone can teach someone to drive!
To become a good instructor is a different ball game.
A driving instructor is a professional in their field.
A driving instructor should know as much as they possibly can about their industry and continue to build that knowledge year on year.
Most driving instructors are self employed, but many do not run their schools as a business.
Some come into the industry with £££££££ flashing before their eyes and think of it as a great cash cow.
£40-50,000 per year being banded about like it's an easy income.
Trust me, you'll be dead on your feet to bring that money home year on year.
At £40,000 for the year, you'll be looking at carrying out 20 hours worth of tuition per week. That doesn't sound bad right?
But you then need to consider all the other factors about running your own business.
Tax, insurance, fuel, admin and stationary, travel time, repair costs, advertising, possibly franchise fees, leasing a vehicle, just to name a few.
By the time all this has been taken from your £40,000, you are NOT on £40,000
These figures "Earn £40-50,000 a year" Are Turnover figures not take home figures and lots of people are drawn into the industry by these figures.
Generally because they have never earnt that amount of money before, but also have never been self employed before and don't understand that these they are liable for when running a business.
SO! Let's say you've been drawn into the industry by these figures.
And you start training for your Part 1 & 2.
In reality, and being judgemental, you should have known your theory and kept up with it as a full licence holder, and your skills for driving a vehicle should also be at a good standard, yet most fail their part 1 and 2 tests, which is when the reality of becoming a driving instructor hits home.
Bad habits have set in over the years, and who picks up a Highway code book once they've passed their learner test?
It's not as easy to become qualified as you first thought.
You have a little bit of training and shove your head in a Highway code book and take the Part 1 & 2 test.
You've now passed your Parts 1 & 2 and are now really keen to get the part 3 done and dusted to become fully qualified.
The keenness to become fully qualified can overtake the need to get decent training and build your skills.
And from what I have seen over the years, the quality of training for Part 3 tests is one least to be desired!
I've heard "Get an Ordit trained trainer" yet I've seen instructors who have come from Ordit instructors and cannot say that what has come from those Ordit instructors has been of any real quailty.
Now this does not necessarily mean that the Ordit instuctor was not good, it may actually be that the trainee instructor just either didn't listen or just didn't get what they were being told.
On the other hand, it may well be that the Ordit trainer was no good!
Then there are the qualified instructors who offer training programmes to PDI's or ADI's preparing them for their Part 3 or standard check, but they too may not be delivering training to the criteria required by the DVSA.
This in turn leads to poor training that may well result with 2 in 3 failing their part 3 test.
The problem with the Part 3 test, is that the assessment of your instruction is carried out by a DVSA trained examiner.
They are trained to assess a PDI/ADI to see that they deliver a driving lesson that meets the 17 core competencies required by the DVSA.
Not all training is carried out to meet these criteria or the trainer does not necessarily understand the criteria themselves and are training with their own interpretation of the criteria.
For proper training to be carried out for new driving instructors it would be far better that the DVSA carry out all the training to include Parts 1,2 & 3 that way if someone qualifies as a driving instructor, the DVSA know that they have met all their own requirements.
An assessment of 45 minutes by the DVSA in my opinion does not truly reflect how good someone is at teaching learners.
It just shows that for the 45 minutes they have or have not met the requirements.
It's similar to an MOT on a car. The car might pass the MOT but as it drives away a light bulb fails, the car is no longer road legal. but it was legal for the 30 minutes of the mot test.
Before undertaking ANY training to become an instructor, find out exactly how the training programme works.
If you are planning on taking on a pink trainee licence you have to have 40 hours worth of training.
Trust me when I say 40 hours IS NOT ENOUGH.
If you want to pass your part 3 test at the first attempt, you'll want more than the minimum required 40 hours.
It takes time to become fluent with your instructions, using coaching techniques, questioning techniques, building your knowledge on the theory of driving, finding your routes for different levels of learner, time keeping, and just generally becoming comfortable as an instructor.
The list below explaining a good level of competency or lack of competency are an easy read, but actually putting them into practice takes time to learn.
It is too easy to sit in the instructors seat and TELL someone how to drive, and although this may be necessary as certain stages during a learners programme, it is not the way the DVSA want to see instructors instruct learners.
The needs of the pupil to help them progress are where lessons need to be staged at, it's the goal that they need to achieve and not your goal for the lesson.
One of the biggest reasons why instructors fail their part 3 or standards checks, is by not setting a lesson to suit the learner.
If you think about running your lessons in a pre-set manner, the lessons work like clockwork, if you try mixing it up because you are bored with doing the same thing again and again, then you are not only doing a dis-service to your pupil, but you are setting yourself up to fail.
Just making a simple situation up as an example.
Your pupil has the basics of moving off and stopping the car but does not have the skill set to use the mirrors effectively when driving, but you choose to introduce roundabouts to them for your part 3, because you think you are good at giving roundabout lessons.
The real lesson should have been approaching left turn junctions introducing the use of mirrors and signal.
It may be that initially you'll need to take care of the signal to start with until your pupil has got comfortable with using the mirrors and then introduce the signal to them. This is because the natural progression for your pupil is to begin using mirrors, roundabouts are currently way out of the picture for a pupil at this stage.
Look at the competencies below and truly ask yourself whether you are delivering lessons that meet these criteria?
