The 17 Competencies

A line-by-line guide to passing ADI Part 3 and the Standards Check, by Robin Ashford.

£19.99

PDF ebook, 66 pages, about 21,500 words. Instant download.

What's inside

One chapter for every competency on the form, plus the test itself, test day and what to do after a fail. Every competency chapter covers what the form asks, the evidence for and against you, common mistakes and a rehearsal drill.

1. How Part 3 and the Standards Check are actually marked
2. Choosing your pupil, car and lesson
3. Finding the pupil's real learning goals
4. Building a lesson structure that fits
5. Picking practice areas
6. Adapting the plan mid-lesson
7. The shared-risk conversation
8. Directions and instructions in good time
9. Watching the road and the pupil at once
10. When and how to intervene
11. Debriefing safety-critical moments
12. Matching your style to the pupil
13. Getting the pupil to analyse problems
14. Using real examples on the road
15. Technical accuracy
16. Feedback that lands
17. Handling questions
18. Manner and inclusion
19. The closing reflection
20. Your first and last three minutes
21. Reading a fail report and planning your retest
22. Notes for the Standards Check

Plus a printable self-scoring sheet, three sample lesson plans and a glossary.

Who it's for

Trainee instructors preparing for Part 3. You get three attempts, and failing the third means stopping paid lessons and retaking Parts 1 and 2. Know what's being marked before you sit it.

Qualified instructors facing a Standards Check. Same 17 competencies, same grade bands. Chapter 22 covers what's different.

What it isn't

It's not a substitute for training with a registered instructor trainer, and it doesn't promise a pass. It's an independent guide, not produced or endorsed by DVSA. What it does is show you, from DVSA's own documents, exactly what the examiner is looking for.

Free sample: from Chapter 1

Most people who fail Part 3 don't fail because they can't teach. They fail because they're performing for a test they don't fully understand. This chapter fixes that.

What happens in the car

Part 3 is a real driving lesson with a real pupil, watched by a DVSA examiner. It lasts about 45 minutes, and your pupil should be driving for about 40 of them.

At the start, you have no more than 3 minutes to agree the lesson's goals with your pupil and discuss how risk will be managed. At the end, you give your pupil no more than 3 minutes to reflect on how they did. Both are tied to specific competencies on the form, so treat them as part of the test, not small talk.

What the examiner is actually measuring

Each of the 17 competencies is scored from 0 to 3. DVSA's examiner guidance defines each score: 0 means no evidence of competence, 1 a few elements shown, 2 most of them, and 3 all of them.

Notice what the form is built around. It doesn't ask whether your pupil drove well. It asks whether you identified their goals, shared responsibility for risk, adapted the plan and got them to analyse their own driving. The pupil's performance is the raw material. Your teaching is what's marked.

The useful arithmetic

Seventeen competencies at 2 points each is 34, a comfortable pass. You don't need to be brilliant at everything. You need to be solidly competent across the board, with no gaping holes, and at least 8 out of 15 in risk management.

The full chapter continues with the automatic fails, what happens after the test, the retake rules and how to start preparing.

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