A driving instructor is not simply preparing someone for an hour-long test. They are helping a new driver build habits and judgement they may use for decades.
Start with the legal check. Anyone accepting payment for car-driving lessons must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency as either an approved driving instructor or a trainee driving instructor. A green windscreen badge identifies a fully qualified instructor; a pink badge identifies a trainee.
The GOV.UK search service lists approved instructors who have chosen to appear on it. An instructor who is not shown there is not necessarily unqualified, because inclusion is optional. DVSA can confirm their status if you have their name and, where available, instructor number.
Before booking a block of lessons, ask a few direct questions:
- How will you adapt your teaching to the way my child learns?
- How will you explain progress to my child and me?
- When will you recommend that we start private practice?
- How can our private practice reinforce what you are teaching?
- What are your arrangements for cancellations, payments and lesson length?
- How will you decide when my child is ready to drive independently, not only ready to take the test?
A trial lesson can tell you more than a pass-rate claim. Afterwards, ask your child whether they felt safe, respected and able to ask questions. Did they understand what they were working on and why? Did the instructor's feedback give them something specific to improve?
If your child is comfortable with it, ask whether you can sit in the back of one lesson. It can help you hear the terminology, see how the instructor gives feedback and understand what to reinforce during private practice. Your presence should support your child, not make them feel watched, so agree it with them and the instructor first.
Learning will involve correction, and not every lesson will feel easy. There is still a difference between constructive challenge and a learner repeatedly leaving lessons confused or diminished. If the relationship is not working, it is reasonable to speak with the instructor or try someone else.
Parents can help by keeping the instructor informed about private practice and resisting pressure to rush the test. The instructor is best placed to advise when the learner is ready for each stage. A test date should follow readiness rather than determine it.