Driving Instructors Branch of Unite the Union April 2014 | Page 6

I also want to work with the industry to identify ways that we can help top grade instructors to promote the higher level of competence that they have worked hard to achieve”.

Learners can check that their instructor is qualified to teach by looking for the green DVSA certificate that should be displayed in the instructor’s windscreen. A pink licence signifies a trainee instructor who is gaining on-road experience during the qualifying process.

Before qualifying all instructors have to pass a series of tests and undergo a criminal records check to make sure that they are competent and safe to teach. Standards checks provide assurance that these standards are maintained.

Notes to editors

•DVSA is the new agency formed by the merger of the Driving Standards Agency and Vehicle & Operator Services Agency

•If an instructor receives a fail grade they will be given another ‘standards check’ within 12 weeks to allow them to show that their level of tuition has improved and that they meet the standards

•Instructors who fail three times in a row can be removed from the register of approved driving instructors

•DVSA consulted last year on a series of changes aimed at modernising the driver training industry; these included replacing the existing DSA qualifying tests with a new vocational qualification and a reform of the trainee licence scheme, so that trainees would only be able to give paid tuition when accompanied by a fully qualified instructor. An interim report on the consultation is being prepared.

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The only comment Dib-Unite has to make on the consultation is that it was rushed through in 6 weeks and then takes over six months for them to sort the results out.