In this blog to customers Tom Ingram (Owner of BIG TOM Driving School) explains the range of resources provided to customers.
“BIG TOM customers are provided with a range of resources that are exclusively available to them and it is up to our customers to make use of the ones that they want to. For example look at our driving videos. Not only are there a bank of them available to customers and the public with 1000+ subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views, but exclusive to BIG TOM customers is another bank of driving videos that ONLY they can see. Those videos are specifically designed to aid their learning on the BIG TOM intensive driving course.
Another resource that was offered to half a dozen customers only last week was access to free driving training on 4 of the 5 weekday mornings last week. This training was made available for customers who had completed their intensive driving course and were waiting to go to test. It involved “peer assessment” whereby a group of pupils in the same category of ability get to take turns in driving in a very relaxed environment – this is known to be extremely beneficial in a learning environment to motivate, reinforce, inspire and increase confidence.
Another resource includes our in-car video recording where a pupil can have any amount of their training recorded so they can watch it in the privacy of their home – this can be very beneficial.
We also make available to customers their pupil books which enable them to make notes, reflect on sessions, set goals, identify strategies to overcome obstacles to learning.
Also, BIG TOM provides customers with formative and summative assessment options whereby they can get direct and instant feedback of good, positive aspects of their driving and also areas that can be improved. The feedback is categorised so that customers can easily recognise matters that are safety related or others that might relate to driving tests or eco driving for example.
Customers are also given the opportunity to contextualize their training for their given needs. So Maisie shown here with her Dad in the back seat wanted him to see her driving; likewise we have had pupils who want to drive with their partner or friends present in the car. Or if they know they will be doing a certain journey and want to practise it that would be another example. Or perhaps they recognise they want to practise multi-storey car parks, using a petrol pump, checking tyres. These are needs that are very specific to the pupil.
Ultimately though, customers at BIG TOM can pick and choose how much of these resources they engage in. It is a personal journey that they go in to and BIG TOM makes no judgement on how a pupil decides they want to learn. Key skills like self-evaluation are encouraged because ultimately, BIG TOM has an incredible record for safety since it has been trading, and the assessment of risk when undertaking driving training and driving tests is a top priority.”
