How happy were you learning to drive?

It's relatively difficult to describe, but when my labrador Bella is happy as I walk her on the field near us, she will grace me with some fancy pirouettes, in both directions no less.  She sprints off circling me about 10 yards away and interjects quite randomly a little spin here and there before sprinting off again.  It's a sight to see, and I'm left in no doubt that my dog is a happy dog.

Students in our schools are far from happy.  PISA produced a "happiness index" for students as recently as 2017, and one in six UK 15-year-olds said they were unhappy with their life.  The UK ranks a pitiful 38th out of 48 countries.

That statistic does not surprise me.  Some of my pupils who train with me look thoroughly depressed with life.  One might wonder if it has something to do with my training, but judging by their demeanour when they start learning to drive, I rather suspect the cause is originating elsewhere.  This is very sad to see; I have been bleating on about this fact in my blog for quite some time now, and it's not getting any better.  Our youngsters are deeply unhappy, and I think school life is at the very least partially to blame.

Should we be in the slightest bit bothered about this?

Absolutely!  I am deeply perturbed at how little some pupils can convey their thoughts and feelings; it seems that they have lost any sense of well being.  I read many moons ago about a room full of neglected babies who lost their will to cry because ultimately, there was no point, no-one was attending to their needs, and it does worry me that this is happening with our young adults.

And yet we march on with our education system, seemingly digging ourselves in a deeper and deeper hole having minimal regard to the actual output.  So do make every effort to create a learning environment in your driving school car which is kind and caring.  It is the very least we can offer.  Let's list what we should be offering:

Our pupils should be treated as we would like to be treated: with respect, dignity and thoughtfulness.

We may not be able to create an enjoyable experience for all, because ultimately, some people simply hate the act of driving, but we can control the environment: what is being practised, where, how often, and in line with the pupil's needs.  In other words, it is possible to design in constructive, positive learning rather than an atmosphere shrouded in failure.

We can maintain safety for our pupils.  There is no reason (other than incompetence on the part of the driving instructor) why pupils have to experience accidents when learning to drive.

We can add context to the training.  Pupils need to know what they are attempting to learn, the breadth and depth and crucially, where they are in that matrix.  Think of a 3D model when you describe to pupils "the programme", it is vital for their well being to know accurately what progress they are making.

We can provide a professional business service of high standards in reliability, conduct and resources.

The DVSA should be assessing the above criteria when they do a standards check.  It should involve far more 1:1 interaction between examiner and pupil so that the thoughts of the pupil can be accurately identified and see how they fit into the above criteria.  The driving instructor should be asked to prove his/her safety record by producing a formal document from their insurers.  The examiner can observe the learning environment from the back of the car.

In practical terms this means that a DVSA examiner can accurately assess the following:

Does the pupil present, independently confirm that the driving instructor acts with professionalism?  Does this instructor arrive on time, give a full lesson, is the booking and payment system transparent, accurate, easy and traceable?  Do they repeatedly cancel training sessions?

How safe is this instructor - do the insurance records provided by the instructor indicate any accidents since the last standards check?

Was the learning environment effective? Did the pupil confirm that they felt comfortable learning, safe, and were they able to establish key learning points from the session?  [Note: this is not for the DVSA examiner to guess or wait for the instructor to mention, this can only be ascertained by independently asking the pupil on a 1:1 basis].

Is the pupil adequately aware of their current ability and what is required to be developed further?  Is the pupil in possession of any documentation from the driving instructor that assists them in identifying their current ability and the breadth of the programme? If not, can the pupil explain how their progress is being monitored, feedback provided to them, and how much longer (on the current frequency/duration of sessions) it is likely to take to learn to drive?

In effect there are three core elements to this assessment:

The pupil's thoughts - gained in a private office (with instructor, not present)
The learning environment - observed by the examiner in the back of the car
The driving instructor - informing the examiner of which components of Roles 1-5 of the national standard for driving cars was covered in the session and the elements within Role 6 which were adopted to achieve the goal(s) of the session.

The DVSA are attempting to discover if the pupil was ultimately happy with the session and the instructor?  They want to know if this instructor is demonstrating an awareness and ability to work to the driving standards.  They want independent assurance that since the last standards check, this driving instructor is safe.  They want to test that key learning points can be acknowledged by the pupil 5 minutes after the training session finishes.

All 3 of those assessments above should be video recorded, and if an appeal is lodged by an instructor against an assessment, then the footage of all three recordings is to be re-assessed by an independent examiner from a randomly selected test centre in the UK.  

One of the key criticisms of OFSTED inspectors is that having elected to work outside of the structure of a school, they then (unconsciously or consciously) project their personal limitations when assessing within the schools and it influences the accuracy, integrity and value of the assessment.  Much the same could be said of DVSA examiners, the difference is though that their work is entirely unobserved which makes it all the more important to add transparency to the process.  When OFSTED inspectors demonstrate weaknesses in their conduct, it is for all school personnel present to witness.  DVSA examiners on the other hand work alone, unobserved and unaccountable.  In times when our police now video record individual officers' actions, it is high time the DVSA properly listen to the concerns of driving instructors and start showing some leadership on issues relating to safeguarding and integrity.