Why forward-thinking ADIs are expanding into minibus assessments.

Minibus Driving Assessments.

The role of a Driving Instructor is to educate and coach learner drivers in road safety and encourage best practice on the roads.

It is such a rewarding job, in so many different ways. But why stop there?!
Have you ever thought about being a Minibus Driving Assessor?!

This might seem a bit random but it’s an incredibly rewarding opportunity for ADIs looking for a new challenge.

If you have a passion for helping and educating others and promoting road safety, then maybe this is the perfect avenue for you.

The skills you have as a Driving Instructor are hugely transferrable to Minibus Assessments.

The role of an Assessor is to educate full licence holders in the safe transport of passengers.

Why become a Minibus Driver Assessor?

It can provide:

  • An additional income stream
  • An interesting variety of work and clients
  • A 7-day full pay cancellation policy
  • This can be what you want it to be if you are independent
  • Less travel as there would be no travel between lessons
  • Less wear and tear as you would use the clients vehicle

The rewards of being a Minibus Driver Assessor are:

  • You will be developing skills in Business to Business / Fleet work
  • You will be doing CPD in order to keep up to date and fresh with the industry movement
  • Additional qualifications; MiDAS standard / MiDAS standard and accessible
  • Generous reimbursement
  • Paid travel / accommodation if you are partnered with a specialist provider
  • Gain experience of accessible transport equipment and best practice
  • Helping people, making a real difference in the safe transport of passengers

There are of course some challenges, as there are with any job.

However, the challenges that come with this job role are something that you can really get your teeth into and engage with.

The criteria and execution of delivering Assessments are different to being in the car with a Learner Driver and this can often be a bit of a learning curve.

It can take a minute to get your head around the different ways of coaching.

This is a great opportunity for you to learn and do additional CPD in order to adopt the new skills needed to deliver these assessments.

The legislation for Minibus Drivers is different from that of Car Drivers.
Again, more CPD is required which is a fantastic opportunity for you to discover and learn more.

Driving is one of the highest risk activities, risk is higher as soon as you talk about transporting other people, children and vulnerable adults.
Sometimes you will be delivering assessments to people who have never driven anything bigger than a Corsa.

This can be quite challenging as the Assessor as you only have a limited amount of time to conduct the Assessment and conclude whether they would be a safe enough driver to be transporting passengers. This can be a really tough decision, and lead to difficult conversations.

The benefits of being an ADI with drivers new to mini buses is that we already possess the skills in order to guide, coach and support these novice drivers.

If a Minibus Driver Assessor is not an ADI and you do not have to be, to be an Assessor, they legally can not coach the driver.

This often leads to drivers being signed off as “passes” when they are not ready for the job.

Having more ADIs delivering these courses, will help ensure that road safety is at the heart of this course and drivers will be competent in safely transporting passengers when signed off as “passed”.

Travel time may be a bit longer to get to the client than you are used to as a Driving Instructor.

But once you are there, you’re there for the day and get paid for the time regardless of who shows up.

If you are delivering these courses independently, you can choose how far you travel of course.

However, if you decide to partner with a specialist provider, often the travel time is 60 minutes or less, which is an acceptable travel time to get to work nowadays.

What’s the first step?

You will need to attend a MiDAS course to gain the appropriate qualification.

The course can be completed independently and you can choose from the list of locations.

Or, you can partner with a specialist provider and they will often arrange for someone from the Community Transport Association (CTA) to come and conduct the assessments, providing there are enough participants at a set location.

MiDAS ‘Driver Assessor’ qualification issued by the Community Transport Association

  • This course is 2 days for Standard and 3 days for Standard and Accessible.
  • The qualification lasts for 2 years
  • You will need to attend a 1 day refresher course every 2 years

Once you have completed your qualification, you will be registered as an Assessor with the CTA and you can start delivering Assessments either for yourself or on behalf of the specialist provider you have chosen.

The benefits of partnering with a specialist provider is that they do all the admin and behind the scenes work.

They purchase the learner passes needed and liaise back and forth with the clients.

  • All Drivers must complete a 90 minute online theory course and achieve a minimum of 80% on the exam at the end
  • This is independent study and must be completed before the practical assessment
  • If the Assessor is independent, it is their responsibility to purchase this (known as a learner pass) and ensure its completion
  • If you are partnered with a specialist provider, they will take care of all of this for you

The benefits of being independent is that you are in control of everything including bookings, admin and purchasing the correct learner passes for your clients.

Some of these things you must do include:

  • Checking each drivers licence has the correct category for the minibus they will be driving ie D1 or Cat B
  • Acquiring minibus details from the client and checking that they have suitable insurance
  • Checking that the organisation has the correct permit displayed
  • Liaising with the client until the course date
  • Add each driver onto the CTA portal
  • Purchase learner passes and then distributing them to each driver individually
  • Uploading driver reports after the practical assessment
  • Downloading and distributing pass certificates

Your clients will be dealing with you from the initial phone call so the rapport can be built from the very beginning.

I work closely with a specialist provider who are focused on road safety and making a difference.

Here is what Ross, their Training Co-Ordinator, has to say:

“At UK Global Road Safety (UKGRS), we are proud to be the UK’s trusted partner for comprehensive Drive Risk Management solutions.

We deliver a wide range of driver and fleet management programmes, many with a global reach, helping organisations improve safety, compliance, and efficiency across their operations.

As part of our services, UKGRS operates a nationwide network of professional trainers and assessors, delivering Minibus Driver Competency Assessments to a variety of clients, including national care home providers, multi-academy trusts, local authorities, and more.

We are currently looking to expand our team and are seeking Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) who are professional, client-focused, and passionate about improving road safety.

By joining our network, you’ll play a key role in ensuring that more minibuses on our roads are driven by competent and compliant drivers”.

There isn’t a lot of good information available online about how to get into this or the importance of having ADIs delivering these types of assessments.
If you are interested in this avenue, I’m more than happy to have a no obligation chat!

© Charli Hodgson https://drive-up-training.co.uk/
The contact details for UKGRS are:
support@ukgrs.com
01452 347332

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