As part of the Ready to Pass? campaign, DVSA encourage learner drivers to ask their driving instructor to sit in on their test.

DVSA know from research that learners have different ideas about how much feedback and detail they’ll get at the end of their test. They’re explaining to learners that:

• their driving examiner will have a short amount of time to explain any mistakes they make – the examiner will only be able to explain the most important ones
• their test result email will tell them how many faults they made and what they were about – but it will not give details such as where they were when they made them
• they might find it hard to take in and the remember the feedback the examiner gives because they’re either excited to have passed or disappointed to have failed

For those reasons, they encourage your pupils to ask you to sit in the back of the car during their driving test.

It also allows you to take more detailed notes to help shape future lessons if your pupil fails and also give pointers on areas to work on if they pass.

Guidance and advice

They’d encourage you to check the guidance about the best way to help your pupils if you’re going to be sitting in on their test. This includes advice and rules such as:

• speaking to your pupil ahead of the test so they know you are planning on sitting in on their test
• it’s important to be quiet during the test and not do things that might be distracting such as answering your phone, eating or make excessive noise
• not moving too much during the test as it can be distracting, it’s ok to change positions to improve the candidate’s visibility during the reverse exercise
• it’s important to secure handheld devices during the test to prevent them from becoming loose during heavy braking

Read their guide about sitting in and observing tests on GOV.UK

Who can sit in on a driving test?

ADIs and supervising drivers can sit in the back during driving tests. You can observe a driving test if you’re 16 or over, but you cannot take any part in the test.

Only one person is usually allowed to observe. Your pupils might be allowed to have 2 people sit in with them as a reasonable adjustment to meet a specific need. They will need to tell the driving examiner about this at the start of their test. Your pupil has to give their consent for non-DVSA staff to sit in on test. Sometimes DVSA managers will sit in on a driving test to observe a driving examiner as part of their continual professional development.