HDDTA is a driving instructors association covering Hinckley & Nuneaton.
About HDDTA”
The Hinckley and District Driver Trainers Association (HDDTA) was formed in July 2017, we are a non profit organisation and are affiliated to the ADINJC ( Approve Driving Instructor National Joint Council)
The vast majority of Driving Instructors work in a relatively isolated environment so our association brings local ADI’s together to give up to date knowledge from our industry, as well as support that’s needed to help with our mental well being.
We have interesting guest speakers, social events and fundraising events for local and national charities. We welcome instructors from local and surrounding areas.
As a group we improve our individual skills within the driving industry.
“Membership Benefits”
Being a member of HDDTA you will benefit from having silver membership to the ADINJC which includes;
ADI Helpline On line industry news Monthly newsletter Online CPD ADI register support Representation to government departments and agencies
Attending our monthly association meetings with fellow members which are friendly and relaxed
Zoom meetings
Up to date industry information
Support from local ADI’s
Be part of our association friendly family
Social gatherings at least 2 per year
Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Guest speakers
Training and courses
Access to a ORDIT registered Trainer
Support the BLR ( Big Learner Relay )
We support 1 of our members charity- Ben Needham treasure chest
WhatsApp group for keep in touch in our daily jobs work/socially
Good morning all We had a talk from James Evans founder of “first car” and “the honest truth “ last night via zoom If you are interested in delivering extra road safety during your lessons check out the website The honest truth.co.uk
You might catch a familiar face too
If you deliver driving lessons in Warwickshire you might be able to get a free pack as the council are promoting this To get this offer contact James via his email James@firstcar.co.uk And ask about the offer
If you would like to subscribe we do have a offer code of £20 off THEWEBINAR
A note for your 2021 Diaries Our next Zoom meeting will Tuesday 5th January at 8pm
Just to let you all know we have received an award from Goroadie under their annual awards -
GoRoadie Awards 2020 Join us in celebrating the winners in the inaugural GoRoadie Awards 2020. This has been one of the craziest years and it feels like the right time to launch a little bit of joy. Every winner represents excellence from the driver training industry and we want to celebrate them.
Award Categories:
ADI of the Year - England ADI of the Year - Scotland ADI of the Year - Wales Association of the Year Car of the Year Community of the Year CPD Provider of the Year Electric Vehicle of the Year Industry Partner of the Year Publisher of the Year
.................................................................................................................................. We have received a "Highly Commended" for our Association
Highly Commended A worthy mention for Association of the Year is Hinckley & District Driver Trainers Association. With strong leadership from Estelle Ealden and Neil Wightman, this is a professional association with their finger on the pulse of the ADI industry.
It has come to that time of year when your Hinckley and District Driver Trainers Association subscription is now due. On our last zoom meeting we asked by a poll ballot about the subscription and the majority decided to keep it as £25 for the year.
Membership Benefits still include;
Silver membership from ADINJC – this can be upgraded by making an extra payment to upgrade to Gold or Platinum membership to get Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance.
ADI helpline
Register Support
Monthly Industry newsletters
Newsflashes
Online CPD
Zoom meetings
Support from local ADI’s
Guest speakers
Training and courses
Access to Ordit registered Trainer
And of course our Lottery Syndicate (the big win is just around the corner!!)
The subscription fee of £25 is due by the 31st December 2020. I will be sending your receipts out via email this year so you can add it to your business accounts.
If you have decided not to renew your subscription please could you email me on estelle.ealden@ntlworld.com or drop me a text 07887 876316 – this then helps me with the details I have to provide to the ADINJC by 31st December 2020 and our own records.
I look forward to welcoming you back and hope we can all meet up again in 2021.
If you need the HDDTA bank details they are as follows;
Lloyds Bank
HDDTA (Hinckley and district driver trainers association)
Business Account sort code 30 98 97 account number 53742568
Please put your name as a reference so I know who has paid
Good Afternoon All Just a quick note to ask how you all are? This year has been difficult in so many ways; it has been hard emotionally, mentally and financially. It’s been a lot harder for those who have fallen through the cracks of government financial assistance. So the reason for this email is to ask if you have found yourself in financial difficulty? We all have hardships but sometimes (like at the moment) people have a real need of help – if this is you please get in contact with me, as through our Association we might be able to help. Get in contact me through my email – Estelle.ealden@ntlworld.com Call or message me on 07887 876316 It will be confidential Take care all and stay safe Estelle
Phased reintroduction of test centre waiting rooms could start next week The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said that the reintroduction of waiting area provision is likely to commence next week and others will follow as part of DVSA’s phased plan.
HSE responded following a campaign from DIA, other NASP associations and individual driver trainers regarding the problem of a lack of waiting rooms. DVSA and HSE have been in discussions to try and work out a safe way to open waiting rooms so trainers no longer have to to wait outside in bad weather during driving tests.
HSE said: “Due to the challenges presented by a wide variety of premises type (whether by size, capacity, location, sole occupancy by DVSA, in a multi-occupancy building, etc) there has been a need to discuss in further detail, the provision of waiting areas while also ensuring the appropriate management of the risk of coronavirus transmission amongst visitors and workers at test centres. We acknowledge that driving instructors have not been able to access waiting areas during this time, but we are advised by DVSA that access is provided to toilets and handwashing facilities at all test centres.
“By way of update from discussions, DVSA is completing site specific risk assessments for all sites to allow them to start to reinstate the use of waiting areas while taking account of risks of COVID-19 transmission. Of necessity this means that the reintroduction of these facilities will be phased depending on the individual challenges presented by the site and the solutions that need to be deployed before they can be used, i.e. facilities will be available at some centres before others.
“We know that the pandemic continues to present a worrying time for all and DVSA’s work continues to take that into account for visitors and workers at test centre sites while provision of waiting facilities is considered.”
NASP is today urging members to lodge a complaint with the Health and Safety Executive regarding the continued closure of test centre waiting rooms.
NASP member associations have raised the issue with DVSA on numerous occasions and asked for a clearer line of sight on when waiting rooms may reopen, as trainers are already starting to be left out in the cold as Autumn arrives. To date no further positive feedback on this issue has been received from DVSA, and no indication of when waiting rooms may open has been given.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) wrote to the agency in September highlighting that the failure to provide adequate sanitary facilities and waiting spaces to customers (and what HSE deems as 'workers' in this context, i.e trainers), is contrary to health and safety legislation and regulation.
DVSA have maintained to date that it is difficult to open waiting rooms across the board due to the challenges of ensuring social distancing (and need to limit exposure for all users to COVID-19), staffing challenges, and the issue at some test centres that waiting rooms are being pressed into service as extra office space to allow staff to socially distance.
NASP no longer finds these reasons acceptable and points to other public and private sector (including retail) service providers who are able to manage their services and accommodation to provide both employees with a socially distanced and safe working environments, and service users similarly with socially distanced and safe waiting rooms and reception areas.
Whilst NASP will continue to raise this issue with both DVSA and HSE, we also recommend that individual trainers, concerned about their welfare heading into the winter months, also make a complaint directly to HSE.
Once there, click on first box and select, Safety of customers, Visitors and Contractors, the rest of the form is self-explanatory,
In the details of your enquiry, you should state the test centres you use and the fact you are left standing out in all weathers, this would also be a good place to mention the lack of toilet facilities if that is an issue at your centre.
ADINJC has also written back to HSE after our recent communications with them to ask what the situation is with regard to their talks with DVSA. We will of course, as always, let you know as soon as there is any news. We are very conscious that this is a cause of concern for many of our members.
Do let us have any photographs of ADIs waiting outside test centres!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TEST AND TRACE The NHS test and trace service is part of a national strategy to identify COVID-19 infections and prevent its spread.
Although this specific guidance relates to England only, the 4 administrations are working closely together to have a consistent and joined up approach to testing and tracing.
We are supporting the service by sharing details of examiners and candidates with them as required.
If your candidate tests positive after attending a test
If your candidate tests positive for COVID-19 up to 48 hours after taking a test they must provide the NHS Test and Trace service with the DVSA email address test.and.trace@dvsa.gov.uk and follow the government guidelines on self-isolation.
This information is provided to candidates in their end of test summary.
If you test positive after a part 2, part 3 or standards check
If you test positive for COVID-19 up to 48 hours after taking you ADI part two or three test or standards check you must provide the NHS Test and Trace service with the DVSA email address test.and.trace@dvsa.gov.uk and follow the government guidelines on self isolation.
If the pupil you bring to take part in your part 3 test or standards check tests positive for COVID-19 up to 48 hours after, they must also provide NHS Test and Trace service with the DVSA email address test.and.trace@dvsa.gov.uk and follow the government guidelines on self-isolation.
This information is provided to you and your pupil after the test or check.
Tracing apps
As part of the government’s coordinated response to COVID-19, NHS Test and Trace has developed the new NHS COVID-19 app.
It is now available for download to all residents of England and Wales, and we strongly recommend that everyone over the age of 16 downloads and uses it.
The Scottish government COVID-19 app is also now available to download.
We continue to follow the latest guidance across England, Scotland and Wales and review how it affects our services and customers.
NASP comment on PCS Examiner member ballot NASP is aware that a ballot of PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union - one of the main unions for Driving Examiners) members has recently taken place. Published on September 25, 2020 PCS states that the results of this ballot clearly demonstrate the health and safety concerns of their members following their return to work at driving test centres across the country.
86% of those who voted in the PCS ballot believe that it is not safe to return to work. Nearly all, 96% believed that staff should not be forced to return. 90% also believe that candidates should be mandated to take a COVID test before attending a test centre for their assessment. 73% of members balloted are prepared to take action to support these demands.
It is worth noting that PCS represents only a proportion of DVSA Examiners, and not all members voted in this ballot, so the results do not necessarily echo the views of all Examiners, nor is this ballot a sign Examiners will take any action that could disrupt services.
We have contacted DVSA today to understand whether they have any concerns regarding this latest ballot, and whether they foresee any disruption to services – now and moving forward. DVSA have a continuing dialogue with their Examiners (and the unions) about issues relating to managing test delivery in the context of COVID-19. Both unions and Examiners have been closely consulted on any measures put in place to safeguard Examiners, trainers and pupils in the testing process, and any decisions to develop the level of testing offered. At this time is no impact to testing services. We will keep you updated on this issue.
DVSA will introduce the planned changes to the car theory test on Monday 28 September 2020.
We wrote to you in February this year to let you know we were updating parts of the car theory test. These changes were postponed as the theory test service was closed on 20 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are the changes The updated part of the test will make it more realistic and improve the accessibility for all candidates.
Video clip scenarios will replace the written case study within the multiple choice part of the current theory test. Candidates will be asked 3 questions based on the short video clip.
Candidates will still: • be asked 50 multiple-choice questions in total • need to get the same pass mark • be tested on the same content
Find out more about the changes on GOV.UK
Updated learning materials The full set of updated official learning materials is available from the Safe Driving for Life website, where your pupils can also practice with the free video clips.
You and your pupils can 20% off by using code 20LZ at the checkout.
we are trailing this to see if it helps are association run easier ,quicker , and more efficiently to give back free time to our committee members . We appreciate your views so if you can share your thoughts of how this is working , we will be pleased to hear them . You can contact any one of our committee members to give feedback Estelle Ealden Association Chairwomen Neil wightman Association Vice Chairman Val Shuttlewood Association Treasurer Jenny Barnett Association Secretary
Alex Gamble Association Social Secretary
Cheryl Sheffield Association Road Liaison officer
Find out more
Find out more about the HDDTA and how it can help you.
