Failing your Part 3 hurts. You've put months into this, you've been out on the pink licence, and now you've got a report telling you it wasn't good enough. So what do you do next?
First, book your next test straight away. With the waiting times as they are, get a date on hold now. But don't make the mistake of waiting for that date to come round before you do anything. Start your training now.
You get three attempts at Part 3. Fail the third and you go back to the start, theory test included. Every attempt counts, so the next one needs to be different from the last. And it won't be different unless you've changed something.
Read your report properly
Your report scores you on 17 competencies, each marked from 0 to 3. To pass you need 31 or more out of 51, and at least 8 out of 15 in the risk management section. Plenty of PDIs score well across the lesson and still fail on risk.
Go through it line by line. Where did you lose marks? Was it one area, or a pattern across the lesson? Write it down. If you can't explain why you lost a mark, that's the first thing to fix.
Be honest about what you've been doing
This is the bit most people skip. Since you started on the pink licence, how have you been teaching? Are you setting goals with your pupil, or telling them what the lesson is? Are you letting them find their own faults, or pointing them out? When you use the dual controls, does your pupil understand why?
If the answer is "the same as before the test", then nothing has changed, and the result is unlikely to change either.
Get the right training, not the minimum
A couple of hours here and there won't undo habits you've built up over months of lessons. You need someone to watch you teach, tell you straight what they see, and show you a better way of doing it.
That might mean moving or cancelling some of your pink licence lessons. I know that's hard when you need the income. But the pink licence is a training licence. It's there to help you qualify, not to be a way of working indefinitely.
Reflect, then put it into practice
Training only works if you take it back into the car. After each lesson, ask yourself three questions. What did my pupil learn? How do I know? What would I do differently next time? Then do it differently next time.
This is where the real change happens. Not on the training day, but in the lessons that follow it.
Use the wait
The wait for your next test is time you can use. Every week between now and your test date is a chance to train, practise and reflect. Leave it until the last fortnight and you'll be cramming. Start now and you'll walk in having already changed how you teach.
How I can help
I work with PDIs who are ready to change what they do. I offer in car training in and around Yorkshire, and online training for PDIs anywhere in the country.
If you've failed a Part 3 and you're not sure why, send me your report. I'll go through it and tell you honestly what I see. No obligation.
Get in touch - mick@adikit.co.uk 077900456012
Mick