Authorising pupils for the driving test

The timing of pupils taking driving tests can be a difficult thing for driving instructors, particularly if there is pressure being applied by pupils or parents or partners.  It really does pay to be very clear on your stance from the very start of your relationship. 
Our customers have choices do they not?  They can either take the advice from a qualified, DVSA registered driving instructor who deals in this subject every day of their working life, or not.  That is their choice.  If a customer does not value your opinion then no amount of persuasion will change that fact.
Crucially, the fact that a customer does not value your opinion does not in any way demean your opinion.  It just means that they do not want to heed your advice.  You would do well to remind them of their options.  The pupil can go to take their driving test in their own car at any time they like, no-one can stop them. No-one can actually stop them.  Or, the pupil can take their driving test in your driving school car only when you authorise them for the test.   Your driving school car is displaying your ADI badge on the windscreen, which the DVSA will be recording when that pupil goes to test.
It is really that simple.  But you do need to be clear on this point. 
Pupils going to test too soon, and passing the test will stop you sleeping at night.
To summarise.  When you initially engage in your relationship with your customers, bring up this point proactively.  There are a variety of ways you can do this, but do it, because if you fail to, you are potentially allowing false expectations to develop with the passing of time; customers expectations do not diminish as their driving ability improves, quite the opposite in fact.  In effect, you are setting the basis of the contract between you right from the start.  The customer then quite rightly has got options as to how they deal with the situation when they start to think that they are ready to go to test. 
What you do not want to happen is for you to find yourself sandwiched within a conflict that potentially compromises standards.  Keep lines of communication open with pupils and funders of training so that everyone is very clear about how you run your driving school.

If you need any assistance with a tricky situation you are dealing with at the moment, feel free to give me a call.