Your instructor
Nigel Flather, driving instructor in Halifax
The most important element in the learning-to-drive equation is the instructor. So here is everything you'd want to check before booking one.
What to look for in any driving instructor
Not just this one. If you’re ringing round the driving schools in Halifax, these are the things worth asking about, and the official DVSA guidance says much the same.
- How qualified are they, really?
- Diploma holders have proved they hold the very highest theoretical skills. The Diploma is a five-module exam and takes a lot of midnight oil.
- Time served
- Good, experienced instructors have spent many years gaining experience and skills. There is no shortcut to that bit.
- Pass rate
- A good instructor has a much higher pass rate than the local average. Ask. Anyone worth booking will tell you.
- Extra qualifications
- Advanced driving and teaching qualifications, and membership of trade bodies such as the DIA.
- What they’re actually like
- Patient and friendly. Keen to identify and discuss problems positively, analyse them and offer solutions. Praise and feedback given without discrimination.
Nigel’s qualifications
- On the DVSA register of approved driving instructors
- Diploma holder. A five-module exam, and a lot of midnight oil
- Diamond Special Test
- DSA Fleet qualified
- Instructor Trainer
- Pass Plus registered
- DVSA Approved Driving Instructor, number 55123
- Over 30 years’ experience at the highest level
- Elementary swimming certificate
One of those is a joke. The other eight aren’t.
Pass rates
- 2017 (to August)
- 100%
- 2016
- 84%
- 2015
- 95%
- Halifax average
- 47.4%
Figures as last published on calderdale.biz. Ask for the current figures when you ring. Better that than trusting an old number off a website.
Independently assessed
Graded A by the DVSA
Instructors get checked by the DVSA on a real lesson with a real pupil, and graded on what the examiner sees. Grade A is the top band. This is Nigel’s, taken in Halifax.
DVSA Standards Check, Halifax. Outcome Grade A. Dated 10/06/2015.
Yes, it is a photograph of a form. No, there is no glamorous way to show you a Grade A.
See what pupils actually said
Fourteen recommendations left by name on Facebook, including two people who passed with zero faults.
Right then. Shall we get you driving?
Ring, send a text, or message on WhatsApp, whichever you’d actually use. Nigel will tell you what lessons cost and when he can fit you in.