Working as a driving instructor survey: June 2021 results
Published 25 January 2022
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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Introduction
This report summarises research carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) about working as an approved driving instructor (ADI).
It aims to:
- find out how important things are changing over time
- get views on topical issues
Driving lessons had been suspended because of COVID-19 during winter and spring 2021. Lessons were allowed to restart in April 2021.
We sent the survey to ADIs on 11 June 2021. The survey closed on 25 June 2021.
At the end of June 2021, there were 38,365 ADIs. Overall, there were 5,554 responses to this survey - 14.5% of all ADIs.
It’s the first time we have carried out this ADI survey.
Summary of findings
Summary of findings from June 2021
This report shows that:
- more than three-quaters of businesses (77.7%) are now fully operational following the COVID-19 pandemic
- more than half of ADIs (64.7%) now charge £21 to £30 for a one-hour driving lesson
The report also shows that:
- on average, each fully operational ADI is currently training 24 learner drivers
- more than 4 in 5 ADIs (81.9%) currently have a waiting list for new pupils
- most ADIs with a waiting list (58.4%) have 10 or fewer new pupils waiting to start lessons
- more than half of ADIs (57.4%) expect to have a waiting list for 6 months or less
About the driving instructor’s business
In this section:
Business type and status
Where in Great Britain do you conduct most of your business?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| England | 85.9% |
| Scotland | 9.1% |
| Wales | 5.0% |
What kind of trainer you are?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Independent instructor | 69.4% |
| Local driving school franchise | 17.4% |
| National driving school | 11.4% |
| Other | 1.8% |
Since driving lessons have been allowed to restart in 2021, which of the following best describes your business?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Fully operational and open for business | 77.7% |
| Partially operational (for example, at reduced hours) | 20.5% |
| Not operating at all yet, but expecting to in the future | 1.3% |
| Not operating at all and not expecting to | 1.1% |
Price charged for driving lessons
Can you indicate the average price you charge for a 1-hour standard lesson?
| Average lesson price | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Less than £20 | 0.4% |
| £21 to £30 | 64.7% |
| £31 to £40 | 33.4% |
| £41 to £50 | 1.1% |
| £51 or more | 0.4% |
Driving lessons
In this section:
Number of learner drivers being taught
Approximately how many learners are you actively training at this time?
| Business status | Average number of learners being actively trained |
|---|---|
| Fully operational | 24.5 |
| Partially operational | 13.8 |
Would you say this is more or less than your pre-pandemic average?
Fully operational driving instructors
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| I’m currently training more learners than normal | 52.7% |
| I’m currently training about the same level as normal | 40.2% |
| I’m currently training fewer learners than normal | 7.2% |
Partially operational businesses
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| I’m currently training more learners than normal | 8.3% |
| I’m currently training about the same level as normal | 17.5% |
| I’m currently training fewer learners than normal | 74.1% |
Driving instructors who were not operational but planning to return to work
You have told us that you are not currently operational but expect to be in the future, can you say when you expect to resume training learners?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 months from now | 45.8% |
| 3 to 6 months from now | 18.8% |
| More than 6 months from now | 12.5% |
| I’m not sure | 22.9% |
Progress of learner drivers
| Learner’s progress | Average number of learners per instructor |
|---|---|
| Learners who are actively being trained who have a theory test pass | 13 |
| Learners who are actively being trained who have a driving test booked | 8 |
We appreciate this may be difficult to predict, but can you estimate how many of your candidates you think are likely to be ready for their practical driving test in the next 6 months?
| Number of candidates | Response rate |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 12.4% |
| 6 to 10 | 30.2% |
| 11 to 20 | 38.3% |
| 21 to 30 | 14.4% |
| 31 or more | 4.6% |
Availability for new pupils and waiting lists
We understand some ADIs currently have a waiting list for learners, do you?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Yes | 81.9% |
| No | 18.1% |
You have told us you have a waiting list of learners, can you say how many you have waiting to start lessons?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | 27.7% |
| 6 to 10 | 30.7% |
| 11 to 20 | 20.9% |
| More than 20 | 20.8% |
How long do you expect to have a waiting list of learners?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 months | 27.4% |
| Up to 6 months | 30.0% |
| Up to 9 months | 12.2% |
| Up to a year | 10.6% |
| Over a year | 10.3% |
| Not sure | 9.4% |
Guidance and resources published by DVSA
In this section:
Top 10 reasons for failing the driving test
We published new guidance about the top 10 reasons people fail the car driving test on 19 April 2021.
Are you aware of our newly-published top 10 reasons for failing the driving test guidance?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Yes | 90.7% |
| No | 9.3% |
How useful is the guidance?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Extremely useful | 33.7% |
| Very useful | 35.2% |
| Somewhat useful | 23.8% |
| Not so useful | 3.6% |
| Not at all useful | 3.6% |
How regularly do you use or plan to use the guidance to help prepare your pupils for their tests?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| With all my pupils | 59.6% |
| With my pupils who have an upcoming test | 27.6% |
| With my pupils who are not ready for their test | 2.8% |
| I do not plan to use it | 10.0% |
Driving test report form for mock tests
We publish the driving test report form (sometimes called the DL25) to help driving instructors to carry out mock driving tests with their pupils.
Are you aware DVSA publishes the DL25 marking sheet for driving and riding tests that you can use for mock tests?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Yes | 76.2% |
| No | 23.8% |
How regularly do you use or plan to use the form to help prepare your pupils for their tests?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| With all my pupils | 43.9% |
| With my pupils who have an upcoming test | 41.9% |
| With my pupils who are not ready for their test | 2.5% |
| I do not plan to use it | 11.8% |
Driving test results guidance
We published updated guidance to help learner drivers understand their driving test result on 21 April 2021.
Over half of ADIs were aware of the guidance, and most thought it was useful and plan to use it with their pupils.
Are you aware of our newly published driving test results guidance?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Yes | 60.0% |
| No | 40.0% |
Have you encouraged your pupils who fail to read the driving test results guidance?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Yes | 68.1% |
| No | 12.6% |
| I plan to | 19.2% |
How regularly will you use the guidance to help your pupils who have failed their test to prepare for their next one?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| All the time | 54.6% |
| Often | 29.6% |
| Sometimes | 13.2% |
| Hardly ever | 2.0% |
| Never | 0.6% |
How useful is the guidance?
| Answer | Response rate |
|---|---|
| Extremely useful | 35.9% |
| Very useful | 37.9% |
| Somewhat useful | 23.7% |
| Not so useful | 1.9% |
| Not at all useful | 0.6% |
Communication preferences
In this section:
How useful did or do you find the following communication channels to get news and updates from DVSA? (select all that apply)
| Channel | Extremely useful | Very useful | Somewhat useful | Not so useful | Not at all useful | I do not use this channel | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast media | 5.4% | 10.0% | 23.3% | 15.7% | 12.4% | 33.1% | 100% |
| DVSA social media channels | 8.4% | 14.7% | 22.1% | 9.9% | 7.3% | 37.5% | 100% |
| Emails and DVSA Direct email alerts | 29.8% | 29.9% | 27.1% | 5.9% | 4.7% | 2.5% | 100% |
| GOV.UK | 21.6% | 27.9% | 31.1% | 8.4% | 5.6% | 5.5% | 100% |
| Group forums | 10.2% | 16.9% | 20.8% | 6.7% | 4.8% | 40.6% | 100% |
| News releases and press briefings | 16.8% | 23.2% | 31.0% | 9.6% | 7.7% | 11.6% | 100% |
| Phone calls | 5.3% | 7.8% | 12.1% | 7.7% | 9.0% | 58.0% | 100% |
| Print news media | 5.0% | 9.7% | 22.0% | 14.3% | 10.9% | 38.1% | 100% |
| Public webinars | 4.2% | 7.1% | 12.8% | 7.0% | 4.9% | 64.1% | 100% |
| Test centre surgeries | 7.5% | 10.7% | 12.5% | 5.3% | 7.3% | 56.7% | 100.0% |
| Video calls and meetings | 2.9% | 5.3% | 8.2% | 5.8% | 5.4% | 72.4% | 100% |
Which of the following channels are you most interested in using? (select all that apply)
| Channel | Very interested | Might be interested | Not at all interested | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast media | 22.4% | 35.6% | 25.1% | 16.8% | 100% |
| DVSA podcasts | 15.0% | 35.1% | 30.5% | 19.4% | 100% |
| DVSA social media channels | 34.4% | 33.2% | 20.3% | 12.0% | 100% |
| Emails and DVSA Direct email alerts | 82.9% | 14.8% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 100% |
| GOV.UK | 60.1% | 30.6% | 5.2% | 4.1% | 100% |
| Group forums | 23.8% | 32.8% | 27.3% | 16.1% | 100% |
| News releases and press briefings | 47.1% | 35.1% | 11.0% | 6.7% | 100% |
| Phone calls | 14.3% | 26.3% | 47.0% | 12.4% | 100% |
| Print news media | 21.3% | 30.4% | 32.5% | 15.7% | 100% |
| Public webinars | 13.7% | 29.1% | 36.3% | 20.9% | 100% |
| Test centre surgeries | 41.1% | 36.9% | 12.2% | 9.9% | 100% |
| Video calls and meetings | 11.6% | 34.9% | 39.3% | 14.2% | 100% |