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The Instructor

The Instructor

By: Terry Cook
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Holding a mirror up the the driver training industry, to help driving instructors run better and more profitable businesses as well as improving as instructors. I talk with a variety of experts, leaders, innovators and game changers to harness their knowledge and see how we can apply that to our business. If you share the same passion for personal and professional development as me and my guests, then this podcast can help you make the changes you need to become a better instructor and business owner. To accompany the podcast there's also a premium subscription feed: https://www.patreon.com/theinstructor Here you can find weekly bonus shows, excluive discounts to CPD and all the show are early and ad free. The perfect place to start or enhance your CPD as a driving instructor.Terry Cook Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Six 4 Sixty #8: Road Safety Justice League
    Jan 31 2026

    In this latest Six 4 Sixty, Terry’s joined by a proper Road Safety Justice League — six heavy-hitters from across the sector, for a fast-paced, insight-packed roundtable on what’s really going on in UK road safety right now.

    First up: the new UK Road Safety Strategy - what it gets right (targets, Safe System thinking, young driver focus) and what it still dodges (funding, enforcement, GDL, and moving quicker than the world changes). Then the conversation turns to young drivers and brain development: how instructors can bridge the gap with habits, routines, preparation, scenario work, and practical “if/then” planning, without blaming or stereotyping.

    They dig into the big one: how driving instructors can make a real difference beyond “pass the test,” including engaging parents and linking in with road safety organisations. There’s also a blunt discussion on instructor quality vs safety outcomes, consistency, and what the UK should steal from other countries (spoiler: GDL keeps coming up).

    Plenty of straight-talking, evidence-led challenge, and loads to nick for your next lesson.

    Find more from the guests here:

    1. Olly Tayler
    2. Rebecca Morris
    3. Ian Edwards
    4. Dr Liz Box
    5. Stuart Lovatt
    6. Dr Ian Greenwood

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    📲 Stay Connected via WhatsApp

    Quick insight, links to key industry documents, and a prize giveaway on Mondays.

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    The Instructor Podcast uses a variety of social media channels, including a Facebook group. You can join the group or follow us on the following platforms:

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      1 hr and 7 mins
    1. Road Safety Strategy: The Opportunity for Driving Instructors
      Jan 11 2026

      The new Road Safety Strategy has landed. The reaction has been loud, emotional, and often misdirected.

      In this episode, Terry Cook doesn’t break down policy line by line or defend government decisions. Instead, he slows the conversation down and explores what this moment really represents for driving instructors.

      This strategy isn’t just a set of proposals. It’s a cultural signal, a shift in how learning to drive, risk, responsibility, and readiness are being discussed publicly and politically for the first time in over a decade.

      Terry examines why the UK hasn’t gone backwards on road safety, but has stood still while others improved. He challenges the idea that teaching to pass a test is enough, explores why defensiveness from instructors is understandable but limiting, and explains why this moment gives instructors permission to step into a clearer, more confident role.

      Listeners don’t have to agree with everything in the strategy. But they do need to decide how they respond to it.

      This episode is about opportunity, leadership, and choosing where to stand as the conversation around road safety moves forward.

      🔥 Get More Than Just Test Passes - Join the Premium Membership

      If you're a driving instructor who wants to teach better, earn more, and stand out from the crowd, the Premium membership is where it happens. With exclusive content you won’t find anywhere else, from expert sessions to confidence coaching, business building, and beyond, this is the stuff no one else is giving you.


      👉 Start your free 7-day trial now: Sign up here


      Get the Workbook for selected Episode

      When you join the email list, you’ll get a custom workbook to help you reflect, take action, and apply each episode’s message to your real-world lessons. Plus, weekly tips that actually make a difference.

      Sign up for The Instructor email


      📲 Stay Connected via WhatsApp

      Quick insight, links to key industry documents, and a prize giveaway on Mondays.

      Join the channel: whatsapp-link.com


      The Instructor Podcast uses a variety of social media channels, including a Facebook group. You can join the group or follow us on the following platforms:

      1. Facebook
      2. LinkedIn
      3. Instagram
      4. YouTube

      Show More Show Less
      30 mins
    2. Green Room #52: 2025 and Beyond
      Dec 31 2025

      Terry Cook is joined by Chris Bensted, Tom Stenson, and Stewart Lochrie to look back on 2025.

      Together they unpack the wins, the failures, and the frustrating feeling that change in the industry is happening… just not always where or how people want it.

      Topics include failure to change, CPD beyond “ticking boxes”, Part 3 heartbreaks, collaboration across the industry, the rise (and misuse) of AI, neurodiversity, road safety, events, and why many instructors still stop developing the moment they qualify.

      There’s reflection on what’s shifted in 2025, what’s improved, and why 2026 might finally be the year when things start to click.

      Check out:

      1. The DITC
      2. Bright Coaching
      3. Drive-Up


      🔥 Get More Than Just Test Passes - Join the Premium Membership

      If you're a driving instructor who wants to teach better, earn more, and stand out from the crowd, the Premium membership is where it happens. With exclusive content you won’t find anywhere else, from expert sessions to confidence coaching, business building, and beyond, this is the stuff no one else is giving you.


      👉 Start your free 7-day trial now: Sign up here


      Get the Workbook for selected Episode

      When you join the email list, you’ll get a custom workbook to help you reflect, take action, and apply each episode’s message to your real-world lessons. Plus, weekly tips that actually make a difference.

      Sign up for The Instructor email


      📲 Stay Connected via WhatsApp

      Quick insight, links to key industry documents, and a prize giveaway on Mondays.

      Join the channel: whatsapp-link.com


      The Instructor Podcast uses a variety of social media channels, including a Facebook group. You can join the group or follow us on the following platforms:

      1. Facebook
      2. LinkedIn
      3. Instagram
      4. YouTube

      Show More Show Less
      2 hrs and 6 mins
    All stars
    Most relevant
    Highly valuable CPD content and very easy to listen to. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in driver training

    My favourite podcast

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    The content is amazing, there's a real pivot towards promoting positive and progressive change in the industry. I've listened and relistened to episodes where Terry gets many key figures to contribute on key matters... and the conversations are a lifeline if you have very little time for direct contact with other instructors.

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    So many episodes to listen and relisten to. Bursting with quality content CPD in every episode. Being part of the community Terry has created makes for being an instructor feel far less lonely.

    Listen up if you’re a driving instructor!

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