The Standards Check

TRAINING £45 PER HOUR

Has that letter dropped on your mat yet?

Periodically Approved driving Instructors are checked to meet the"National Standard for driver and rider training". That happens at least once in four years if the ADI is a grade A or at least twice if grade B. Newly qualified Instructors can expect to be invited for their first Standards check within six months of qualifying.

The standards check aims to assess your ability to instruct and whether your instruction helps a person learn effectively.

If you fail the Standards check, you will have two more attempts.

Fail three times, and you will be removed from the ADI register and have to requalify.

Three main competencies are:

• Lesson planning
• Risk management
• Teaching and learning skills

These contain seventeen lower competencies that are checked and provide an achieved score.

Each Competence is scored from 0 – 3 as follows

• 0 = No evidence of Competence
• 1 = A few elements of Competence demonstrated
• 2 = Competence displayed in some elements
• 3 = Competence displayed in all elements

You need to score 31 or more to pass the Standards check. Grade B if you achieve a score of 31 to 42. The top-grade, A, is achieved with a score of 43-51, which will indicate you have demonstrated a high level of instruction.

However, you also need to score above seven within Risk management to avoid an automatic fail. The examiner can also terminate the Standard check and register a fail if you have put yourself or others in danger.

Preparing well for your Standards check is essential, and there are many ways you can do this. Plenty of information is available, and the first port of call should be to read the"National Standards for driver and rider training", followed by reading Chapter 4 of the ADI1 Instructions for the guidance of driving examiners. 

Chris also advises that you consider having your instruction checked by a trainer, exceptionally if you are newly qualified. Whilst the core competencies and Instructional techniques will serve you well, and you are dealing with a real pupil. They will make mistakes, but you do not need to be all over them like a rash as you would the examiner in Part 3. You also need to fully understand the risk element and know-how to apply in the car.

Approved driving instructors who have never achieved a higher grade than a four on the old Check test should also consider contacting a trainer not necessarily for training but perhaps for advice or to arrange for a lesson to be observed and critiqued.