Becoming A Driving Instructor

Our Portchester TCIT Online Package provides the key information required to train to be a driving instructor.

You will receive regular communications from us containing a wealth of information about how to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to become a DVSA Approved Driving Instructor on the DVSA Register of ADIs.

With links in the emails to videos, webinars and articles, as well as our TCIT Course Book with TCIT Record of Progress you will have everything you need to train to be a driving instructor and pass the Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the qualifying examination with confidence and ease.

You will also receive a resource pack containing:

Driving - the Essential skills
The Highway Code
Know your Traffic Signs
The Driving Instructor's Handbook
Practical Teaching Skills
Car & Diagram Set
Online access to Part 1 questions and hazard perception training via 'Driving Test Success' and online copies of DVSA National Training Standard and DVSA National Driving Syllabus.

The cost for stages 1 and 2 of the TCIT course and resources is £600 for the course materials then £175/3.5 hour in car session of which there are 12 in car sessions totalling £2700.

The cost for stage 3 is £300 Course materials and £1000 for 20 hours in car sessions or £300 couse materials and £220/4 hour in car session of which there are 5 in car sessions.

1. Qualification Process

Part one of the qualification process comprises two separate tests,Multiple choice questions and a Hazard perception test.You are required to pass them both.

The theory test checks your knowledge of the Highway Code, general road safety, driving techniques, basic first aid knowledge and the theory of instructing a pupil. Portchester driving school provides you with all the necessary training material, and you can attempt as many mock tests as you wish on the training website to gauge your progress. The test lasts 90 minutes and you must achieve an 85 percent mark to pass on the multiple choice questios and a score of 44 out of 75 on the Hazard perception test.

2. Practical Driving Test

The second part of the examination is a practical driving test designed to evaluate your driving ability.

Potential driving instructors must pass their theory test before moving onto part 2.

You must complete this test within two years of passing your theory test.

During your part 2 test you will be asked to drive on many different roads taking in many different road conditions. You will be asked to do some independent driving during your test and also will need to be able to do all of the reversing manouvres. The part 2 driving test will last for approximately 1 hour.

3. Instructional Ability Test

The instructional ability test evaluates your ability to instruct a student. This is the final test in the process.

You must of passed both part 1 and 2 before moving onto the instructional ability test.

You must complete this test within two years of passing your theory test.

The DVSA will issue you with what is, in effect, a provisional license to ‘teach for reward’. This means that you can join Portchester driving school as a potential driving instructor (PDI) and begin giving actual lessons. This is a very effective way of developing your skills in your instructional ability ahead of your part three test. It also means that you start to earn a living whilst you are still in the training process to become a driving instructor. Your trainee licence is valid for six months, and you will continue to receive 20 hours of in-car training on a one-to-one basis from Your trainer prior to your part three test. On passing the test you can apply to be added to the DVSA register of approved driving instructors.

What happens during the Part 3 test?

- A Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) examiner will watch you give a client-centred driving lesson lasting about 45 minutes to one of your pupils.
- Your pupil must drive for at least 40 minutes of the lesson
- At the start of the lesson, discuss the goals for the lesson and risk management with your pupil. This should take no more than 3 minutes.
- At the end of the lesson, give your pupil no more than 3 minutes to reflect on their performance.
- The examiner will look for evidence that you meet the national standard for driver and rider training.

Your pupil:

Your pupil can be a:
- partly trained learner
- fully trained learner
- full licence holder

Your pupil cannot be:
- a learner who has just started learning to drive
- an approved driving instructor (ADI) or someone else who is preparing to take the ADI part 3 test

What you’ll be marked on:

You’ll be marked on 17 areas of competence that are grouped into 3 categories:
- lesson planning
- risk management
- teaching and learning strategies

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.

Additional Information:

In-Car Sessions

There are thirteen modules in the TCIT product. Twelve modules prepare you to become a driving instructor and Module 13 focuses on preparing you to pass the Part 3 test. Each of modules 1 to 12 contain one in-car session and Module 13 consists of 5 in-car sessions.

Evaluating your own progress and recognising your strengths, limitations and development needs is key to being self-aware. This means you can set your own goals knowing exactly what it is you need to do in order to improve your driving skills and driving instructional techniques. The in-car sessions focus on your driving technique and help you develop this to beyond a DVSA Part 2 driving standard; your commentary driving skills; and your driving instructional techniques, so that you understand all about lesson planning, levels of instruction, core competencies and feedback.

Working alongside your Portchester trainer, they will help you track and monitor your progress through the course, completing an evaluation form after each in-car session, thus triggering the next online materials.

Communication and Feedback

We look at different learning styles and how to build rapport; different questioning techniques and the importance of asking effective questions; the use of feedback for personal development, and for the development of the student driver; different feedback techniques, such as eliciting feedback and the use of scaling. The overall focus is on client-centred learning techniques with a look at the theory and research that underpins and validates this approach.

Coaching Conversations and Goals for Driver Education

We focus on how to hold a coaching conversation in order to address the higher levels of the Goals for Driver Education (GDE) and how to develop thinking drivers. We use the GROW model to structure coaching conversations and essential coaching skills of Questions, Listening, Feedback, Rapport and Intuition. The GDE framework sets out everything a driver needs to know and do in order to drive the car safely. It shows how the personality of the driver and the context of the journey impact on the choices and decisions the driver makes when dealing with traffic situations and controlling the vehicle.

DVSA National Standards

We look at the DVSA National Standards and show how they underpin the way we teach people to drive and the knowledge and information a driving instructor needs. The standards have a focus on client-centred learning and the new Standards Check that every driving instructor has to complete, assesses that the ADI is giving value for money and ensuring learning is taking place. Many driving instructors find the National Standards confusing and complicated. We help bring a dull topic to life and aim to leave you with a clear picture of what you need to know and do in order to address the standards and be an effective and successful driving instructor.