Hello everyone.

I hope you are all keeping well and getting through this strange time. It’s surprising how quickly our lives have changed isn’t it? The need for social distancing meant that I made the decision nearly 3 weeks ago to stop teaching, the day after I decided this the government announced a lockdown and so all other driving instructors followed suit as we were informed to stay at home.

As a driving instructor this leaves me with very little to do… I usually spend my working hours out on the road as most of our sessions are practical. I’ve been thinking about how I might be able to still help my current pupils during this time and also how I could use this time for some personal development. As I have 2 young children and the schools are now shut my work time has become school time so I’m working on developing my patience, maths skills and ability to understand early years teaching styles! This is not something I ever saw myself doing and is really testing me – I am being reminded of how it feels to be a learner as I step out of my comfort zone. I am managing to carve a little time for myself each day and have been taking advantage of some of the many online training courses available to my industry. So I am remaining proactive and trying to continue my personal development as much as possible, all of which will benefit my pupils when we can finally get back out on the roads!

I am very aware that for my pupils this will have an impact on your learning. Some will be worrying about getting back into the car after so many weeks off, others will be frustrated as they have had tests cancelled and I know that many of you, like me, will have stopped earning money during this time and may be concerned about how you can afford lessons afterwards.

For those of you who have had tests cancelled, hopefully you have all received your new dates by now. If you haven’t informed me of your new date please get back to me as soon as possible so I can ensure I’m available for it. If you are able to practice in your own car with a parent please do. Remember the stay at home rules though, so a good time to practice would be when going to do your essential shopping or going to work if you are a key worker. Keep those skills up and remember you can message or ring me at any time if anything occurs during your practice that you need advice with. If practice isn’t an option to you then I would recommend that everyone gives an hour a week to some theory practice. Even if you have already done your theory test you need to keep that knowledge fresh. Also there are many blog posts on here that recap some of the skills you need to pass your test so please do go back and have a read of some of those.

If you’ve been affected financially during this time and are unsure of how you are going to be able to afford lessons when I am finally allowed to resume teaching, please don’t hesitate to contact me so that we can discuss how I can help you. Here are a couple of suggestions for you to consider. If you have the money now and would like to ensure that you don’t spend it before we start lessons again, why not set up a weekly direct debit and pay for your lesson as usual? I can add that money to your pupil log and you will know that when we start back again the first few lessons will be paid for. Perhaps you have a birthday coming up and would like to ask your family members for driving lessons as your gift – I sell gift vouchers so if you give them my number or email address I can arrange this with them. Alternatively, you may find that you don’t feel you can recommence regular weekly lessons once this is all over, let me know what you feel you can afford and I will see what I can do. Perhaps someone else is in the same situation as you and you could share a lesson slot with them thus having a lesson every fortnight instead of weekly until your situation changes.

For anyone who is feeling anxious at the moment, please make sure you are talking to people. Video calls and online events are always available to you and you may find that a little bit of human contact (even when using a screen) is exactly what you need. Apps like Insight Timer are free and provide you with lots of help and information to deal with the anxiety and take your mind off it for a while. If you’re particularly worried about how the break in your learning may affect your lessons please chat to me about it – there’s always a solution and you’ll find me to be very understanding.

I’ll just end with a big THANK YOU. So many pupils have contacted me over the last couple of weeks, just to say hi and ask how I’m doing and I have really appreciated it. I’m really missing my job, I have always loved helping my learners and I feel a bit lost without it, so it’s been really lovely to hear from some of you. Please keep checking back here, checking my Facebook and checking your messages as I’ll try and send you updates or useful links as and when things are available to us. Stay at home, stay safe!