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\n \n Barry Passes his Theory Test First Time \n

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\n Oct 16, 2009 9:17 am

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\nCongratulations to Barry on passing his Part 3 Theory test first time. We knoew you could do it Barry!! \n

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\nBarry scored 94% on the theory and 58 on the hazard perception - very well done Barry. One step nearer to being an instructor.\n

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\n \n Instructor Training Pass Rate \n

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\n Oct 1, 2009 1:52 pm

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\nIf you ask any instructor training company or college what their pass rates are then you can usually be guaranteed a load of baloney. The trouble is some people believe it. One person who came to us had been on the Red Instructor College training presentation where he was told their pass rate was 96-97%. He was also told that Red Instructor college trained 70% of the instructors in the country. Given that the DSA say that the overall pass rate for the country is 28% for Part 3, then somewhere in these statistics it looks like something doesn’t quite add up…\n

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\nHere at Bradleys Instructor Training College, we are completely open with our figures and they are quite simple and easy to understand: \n

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\n We have had one person pass their Part 3 exam first time \n
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\n We have had absolutely no-one fail their Part 3 exam 3 times \n
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\n Most everybody passes on their second attempt \n
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\nSo is that clear, easy to understand, useful and good value? \n

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\nJust like our training then. \n

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\n $\"Cool\"$ \n

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\n \n New instructor at Bradleys \n

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\n Oct 1, 2009 9:34 am

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\n \n It's a big welcome to Bradleys for Tye Ramzan who will be joining us officially on 19th October. First, though, he has to struggle through the next couple of weeks on holiday in Greece! What a chore that will be for him. Well let's hope he will come back nice and rested because he will be extremely busy when he gets back as we are already booking new pupils into his diary for him. Tye is a great guy with a great big personality and he is very skilled and patient. He will be working around Hatfield and St Albans and will be seen about in his blue Mini.\n

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\n \n Bradleys needs new instructors \n

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\n Sep 29, 2009 11:16 am

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\nIt seemed so obvious to me that I didn't even blog about it, but Bradleys is constantly looking for new instructors because we have plently of work - ie new pupils - coming in. As an example, Tony Curran joined us from the AA on 18th September. He had been given 2 pupils by them since July! I shall repeat that because it is not a typo - the AA had supplied Tony with only 2 pupils since July. I can't remember how many pupils we gave to Tony in his first couple of days but it was in the region of 4-7. In the first couple of days. He has had more since and is really enjoying his time at Bradleys and is looking after his pupils well and they enjoy lessons with him. And we will carry on giving him pupils. \n

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\nWe are constantly looking for competent, patient instructors with all levels of experience. We take qualified ADIs so long as they are Grade 5 or 6 and we take trainees who are part way through their training with other driving schools and train them up to complete their training the Bradleys way. We also run a superb driving instructor training college where people can train from scratch to be a driving instructor. This is particularly suited to people who are looking to change career and want a job where they are their own boss and work flexible hours to suit their lifestyle. \n

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\nIf you want work and you want to work with good, honest people, talk to Bradleys. You will be better off. \n

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\n \n Bradleys fleet of instructor cars \n

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\n Sep 21, 2009 1:46 pm

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\nWhen pupils ring Bradleys to book a driving lesson, one of the questions often asked is about the types of car we use. Some people may be looking for a particular car, perhaps because they are thinking of buying a certain car once they have passed their test, while others may just be making sure our cars are suitable to learn to drive in. \n

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\nAll of Bradleys driving school cars are fitted with He-Man dual controls for safety, so that if necessary the instructor can brake the pupil if they get flustered, which can sometimes happen. However, while the dual controls are an important safety feature, the main use of the dual controls by the instructor is in assisting the pupil for clutch control. Sometimes in a manoeuvre such as turn in the road or reversing, the pupil finds that there is a lot to do and think about at the same time and clutch control is not as easy as it is when pulling off. So the instructor will gently assist the pupil with clutch control, allowing the pupil to focus on the other aspects of the manoeuvre. \n

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\nAll of the cars in our fleet are suitable for learning to drive in. We keep a variety of cars, all what we would call 'small saloons' or 'compact cars'. All have excellent visibility for the pupil and the instructor to gain all round observation of the roads around them as this is vital when teaching. All our cars are fitted with at least one extra mirror to give the instructor greater visibility of either the pupil or the road behind, or both. \n

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\nWhile initially the pupil may make a request for a particular vehicle in which to learn, we have found that the skill and patience of our instructors is at least as important in putting the pupil at ease. As they approach test standard, pupils generally are less concerned with the type of car they are in, as they become more able to adjust to a different car and often have as they may be using their parents' car in which to practice between driving lessons with Bradleys. \n

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\n \n Why not train with Red instead? \n

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\n Sep 18, 2009 2:20 pm

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\nWell, why not train with Red Instructor Training (part of the instructor college) and the UK's "number 1 trainer of driving instructors"? That is, according to their website. Well there are indeed many reasons why not. Having been to their presentation and heard what they have to say, price is one reason. They charged £3,700 when I went, which was in June. They say that they have several 'packages' which can cost less than this and there always seems to be a promotion which is about to end. \n

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\nAccording to industry sources, Red Instructor training spent £619,776 on digital TV advertising alone in the period January to June 2009. That is £1,239,552 in a full year without accounting for the advertising they do in Yellow pages and other print media, or on the internet, or on terrestial TV. Nothing wrong with advertising you might say. That's true of course. But how much of that advertising is spent on Red Instructor college and how much on Red Driving School, advertising for pupils for their driving instructors? Well, how many adverts have you ever seen for pupils? Not a lot I bet. \n

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\nSo if you train as a driving instructor with Red, and all goes well and you pass and qualify as a driving instructor, what then? Well you are guaranteed a job, of course. You are guaranteed a franchise with Red driving school. So where do the pupils come from? There's not a lot of advertising for pupils for you. And this is the point. Red are primarily a training school for driving instructors, rather than a driving school. \n

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\nSo how do we compare with Red? Well we are completely the opposite of Red. We are first and foremost a driving school. We want good people who we can train to be good driving instructors at our driving school. How many adverts do you see for our instructor training? Not a lot. Because there aren't any. How many adverts do you see for pupils for our driving instructors? Lots, because that is what we do. Targeted marketing to people who want or need to learn to drive. All our instructors have sufficient pupils to work as many hours as they want. We need new driving instructors because we have more pupils than we can give lessons to with our current instructors. \n

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\nHow do we compare witrh Red Instructor training on price? Our training costs £1,950 and you get this back as you train, so that by the time you are qualified you have actually made money. Our training is good because we will be working with you when you have quailified. You will be teaching our pupils to drive. If you aren't good at it you will give us a bad reputaion and damage our business. That's why our training has to be good. \n

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\n \n Barry and Carol go round the bend backwards \n

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\n Sep 17, 2009 12:32 pm

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\n \n Or, in other words, they practiced teaching Part 3, Phase 1 reversing. Barry and Carol are two of the trainees on one of the instructor training courses at Bradleys Instructor Training College and are moving through learning their Phase 1 PSTs for their instructional ability tests. On the course they are taught all of the PSTs, both Phase 1 and 2, and spend a considerable amount of time out on the road practising, both with and without a trainer.\n

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\n \n Show me your turn in the road \n

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\n Sep 17, 2009 10:59 am

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\nThat’s what James said to Tony after he had his Part 2 driving ability assessment. "OK," said Tony, "show me what you can do as a Part 3 trainer, then". So they swapped seats and Tony took instruction from James for a phase 1 turn in the road lesson. Turn in the road is PST 3 phase 1 for the instructional ability test (sorry about the jargon!) and this is what James had been learning how to teach on the instructor course the day before his part 2 assessment with Tony. So he decided to turn the tables on Tony and show him his Part 3 skills. Tony played the role of a pupil under James instruction – which will also be the same as the role of the examiner in James’ Part 3 examination so it was good practise for James. \n

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\nPhase 1 is where the driver is a ‘partly trained’ driver. This can be someone who has only had a few lessons and maybe has mastered the controls, moving off and stopping and clutch work but hasn’t been shown how to do this particular manoeuvre before. So James instructed Tony as though it was the first time Tony has done the turn in the road. He explained what he was going to teach him, did a re-cap of what Tony had covered previously, and using his teaching skills taught Tony as if from scratch. “Pretty good”, said Tony afterwards, giving his feedback to James on his abilities. “Considering you’ve only had a few sessions at the Bradleys instructor training college, that was pretty good.” \n

\nJames will continue his instructor training at Bradleys and in each session he will consolidate what he has done previously and the trainer will bring in new skills and methods. \n

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\n \n Part 2 Assessment for James \n

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\n Sep 17, 2009 10:52 am

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\nJames Power is currently one of our trainees on our driving instructor training course at Bradleys Instructor college and had his second Part 2 driving ability assessment with our new trainer Tony the other day. I'm sure James won't mind me saying that his driving needs a little polishing to smooth out some of the niggling habits he has picked up over the years. But, hey, this is a training course and we are training him. If he could do it already he wouldn’t be her undergoing instructor training. Anybody can be trained to the required standard for their Part 2, it’s not rocket science. It is thorough training, a consistent approach and a positive attitude by both trainer and trainee. In other words a lot of what is also required for a good driving instructor! James has a fantastic, outgoing, friendly personality and Tony says he will make an excellent instructor – a great addition to Bradleys team when he passes his Part 3 and gets his ADI badge. \n

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\n \n New Driving Instructor Tony \n

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\n Sep 17, 2009 10:14 am

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\nTony Curran an ADI with over 17 years experience joins Bradleys driving school this week. Tony was with the AA driving school but decided to leave them because they no longer offered diesel cars. This seems a very odd decision for a driving school - especially a national one like the AA - as it has the effect of significantly increasing the instructors fuel costs and therefore reducing the amount they can earn each week. Diesel cars are considerably cheaper than petrol cars to run, especially when petrol and diesel prices are quite similar which they are at the moment. A petrol car for driving lessons will give about 38 miles per gallon, while a diesel will achieve up to 60. Changing from a petrol to a diesel by moving to Bradleys from the AA driving school will save Tony about £20-£25 per week. Tony is a terrific guy and a brilliant driving instructor and will be a welcome addition to Bradleys driving school. He will also be helping to train new driving instructors at Bradleys Instructor College. In the last few months Bradleys has stepped up its committment to its instructor training college because more instructors are needed to help meet the demands of all the pupils the school is attracting.\n

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\n \n Financial Advice for Bradleys Instructors \n

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\n Sep 15, 2009 1:34 pm

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\n \n We have now tied up with Lyndhurst Financial Management who will offer free financial planning and advice to all our driving instructors as a part of their franchise package with Bradleys. Lyndhurst are based in Harpenden and have agreed to give the benefit of their substantial experience in the world of finance to Bradleys instructors. We met last week with Geoff Newman a director and Clive Gadsden the senior manager and are now putting together a joint presentation and workshop for Bradleys driving instructor trainees. One area which Lyndhurst will assist the trainees with will be planning for self-employment for those who have not been in this situation previously. Other areas will be tax planning and advice, family and income protection, mortgages and pensions.\n

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\n \n Instructor Training Workshop \n

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\n Sep 14, 2009 5:14 pm

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\n \n I discuss with one of our trainers the format of the instructor training workshops which we run each week. We spend a lot of time behind the scenes pairing up people who have similar learning speeds and abilities. Not everone is used to role play situations, although some are. Some people have come from a sales background and have used role play in their training. We try to get all the instructor trainees used to thinking about the part 3 exam as a role play situation so as to try and instill into them the difference between this and real-life pupils. Some instructor trainees can lapse into not doing anything while the examiner is driving between situations and this can sometimes not show their skills in a positive way. It is important for the trainee to remember that the Part 3 exam lasts for the whole time that they are in the car with the examiner and not just while they are teaching a manoeuvre or PST, and this is just one of the aspects we teach at the workshops.\n

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\n \n Driving Instructor Training Induction \n

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\n Sep 14, 2009 2:03 pm

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\nWe have added a new induction phase to our driving instructor training schedule, to ensure our trainees are ready for their pupils. Open this posting and watch the video of Dean showing paople how it's done. \n

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\n \n Dean's New Car \n

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\n Sep 14, 2009 1:31 pm

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\nDean's new car is arriving today - a '59 plate Blue Fiesta Zetec. He should be happy with it, his pupils too as they are used to a Fiesta. I know this isn't a particularly interesting posting for pupils apart from those in Hatfield learning to drive with our driving instructors there, but hey I'm new to this blogging stuff.\n

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\n \n How to start your first ever blog \n

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\n Sep 13, 2009 8:48 pm

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\nIt has to start with a ditty... \n

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\nAs I sit here broken hearted, \n

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\nI strive to blog, \n

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\nBut my words have departed... \n

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