What is a Driving Instructor

If you've ever wondered what is a driving instructor, well this page tries to explain the differences and give you a small insight to what is a driving instructor.
Ellison's Driving School is the No1 driving school in Somerset.

What is a Driving Instructor?

Not many people know much about driving instructors. Yep, we drive cars and most driving schools have dual controls fitted in their cars and we help you reach a safe standard of driving whereby hopefully you’ll go on to take and pass your driving test. But I wanted to give you a little bit more of an insight into just exactly what a driving instructor is.

In order to become a driving instructor, firstly you have to pass a DBS check. This was formerly known as a CRB check. This is a background check on each instructor and normally ends up with the police doing checks on them too. If this stage is passed, then the wannabe driving instructor can then go on and take their training. Just to reassure you, our team of instructors have been through and passed the DBS checks.

There are two different types of driving instructors
There is an ADI and a PDI. A PDI is someone who is going through their training and generally speaking have passed two out of their three exams and are just training to take their third and final exam.

An ADI is someone who has passed all three exams set out by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Also, has been accepted on the register of approved driving instructors (ADI). It’s quite easy to tell whether a driving instructor is a trainee (PDI) or a fully qualified ADI by the colour of their badge that is displayed in their windscreen. A PDI will have a Pink badge and an ADI will have a Green badge. A PDI’s badge lasts for six months, during that time it is expected that a PDI would have gone on and taken their third and final exam to qualify as an ADI.

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A trainee driving instructor has to be sponsored by another driving school. So a PDI will come under the umbrella of another driving school and abide by their code of conduct.

Our advice is never to pay for driving tuition unless you can see either a Pin or Green badge in their windscreen.

To become a driving instructor can take anywhere from four months to two years. Obviously this depends on how often you can make yourself available to train and study and also the quality of the training you receive.

Once a driving instructor becomes fully qualified, they can then choose to either go independent or to work on a franchise basis and work with an existing driving school. Every driving instructor is graded. The grades used to run from 1 to 6, this was called a “check test” but things have changed since 2014 and now every driving instructor still gets checked for quality assurance but it is now called a standards check. The grading system for the standards check runs from A, B or F. For a driving instructor to remain as a driving instructor they have to achieve either a grade A or grade B. If a driving instructor fails their standards check, they then have a further two attempts to improve their skills and reach the criteria set out by the Driving Vehicle and Standards Agency.

Our team of Driving Instrucotrs are friendly, patient and very reliable. We are the No1 driving school in Somerset and we have an amazing reputation and excellent customer reviews to support this. If you're looking to take driving lessons in Somerset then get in touch to see when you can start. The best driving instructors in Somerset. You can also find on this website information about how driving instructors go about delivering driving lessons and how different driving schools may operate.

Driving Schools in Taunton - Driving Schools in Wellington - Driving Schools in Highbridge - Driving Schools in Bridgwater - Driving Schools in Burnham on Sea - Driving Schools in Weston Super Mare

Come and Join Our Team

When you join our team our main priority is ensuring that you are valued as a Driving Instructor and become part of the team. We want you to enjoy the rewards that come with working with a professional team like ours, not just for the pupil support but also financial rewards too. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information about joining our team.

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Lisa

FOUNDER & MANAGER
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Paul

ADI & HEAD OF INSTRUCTION
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Kate

PDI
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Angie

ADI
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Matthew

ADI
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Steve

ADI
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Coming Soon

ADI

Our customers love us

One of the main things that people should look for when choosing a driving school is that their instructors should be encouraging and very positive. Sometimes, when starting driving lessons with a new instructor it can be a daunting experience, however, we can assure you quality of service.

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Hannah Deason-Barrow
I always thought learning to drive would be very difficult but my instructor Steve made things very simple and easy to understand. I would recommend everyone who wants driving lessons in Taunton to take driving lessons with Ellisons School of Motoring. Thank you so much Steve. I am now a confident and safe driver.
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Jordan Eick
I was recommended to Ellison's Driving School in Somerset by a friend. My friend was always telling me how he loved his driving lessons and kept going on about it. So, I thought I would give Ellison's a call to start taking driving lessons in Bridgwater and I soon realised that my friend was right.
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Sandra Didzgalvyte
If you're looking for a driving school in Wellington then make sure you give Ellison's School of Motoring a call. I was nervous at first but my instructor was amazing. I had heard of Ellison's and that they were good and I soon realised for myself that they very good, in fact, not just good, but bloody brilliant - Thank you Ellison's.
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About Us

Ellison's School of Motoring is the No1 Driving School in Somerset. Guarnateed stress free learning.

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  • 20 Holyoake Street, Taunton, Somerset, TA21 8LD