The national standards

DVSA created the national standard for driver and rider training (GOV.UK), which sets out the knowledge, skills and understanding you’ll need to provide a successful programme of driver training. The standard is important for making sure your pupils not only learn in a safe way, but also learn to become safe drivers. In addition, it makes sure you keep your skills and knowledge up to date.

Find out more about the standard in the Instructor Knowledge Centre on this website.

National standards for lorry and bus drivers

There are also national standards for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and passenger-carrying vehicle (PCV) drivers, which describe what these drivers need to know and be able to do to be safe and responsible on the road. These standards are what your pupils will be working towards as they learn to drive an HGV or PCV: if they can meet the standard, they should safe on the road and be able to pass their driving test.

The HGV Knowledge Centre and the PCV Knowledge Centre on this website are guides to the national standards: they explain the standards in a clear and easy-to-digest format. You could suggest your pupils take a look at the appropriate knowledge centre to help them understand what they need to learn.

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