DVSA Local Test Centre Contact Numbers

Sheffield Handsworth 02081489664

Sheffield Middlewood 02081429459

Rotherham 02081429455

Worksop 02045706486

Chesterfield 02045706310

Barnsley 02045706319

Doncaster 02046666123

Swap a driving test

You can only swap via OBS if you registered both test's on OBS, If the pupil or another instructor booked then you can swap the tests by phone:

Prior to phoning ensure you have the following for both candidates:

• Full name

• Driving License Number

• Address & Post code

• Test Booking Ref

• Date & Exact Time of Test

• Location of test

Its also advisable to have the candidates email address and or phone number as although not required to complete the swap the DVSA agent will sometimes ask to confirm them prior to sending their notifications out.

The number to call is 0300 2001122 upon answer immediately press 25 to get transfers to the ADI-PDI team

SDDIA AGM July 2023 Minutes

Sheffield & District Driving Instructors Association

Annual General Meeting

18th July 2023

The Malin Bridge Inn, Sheffield

Opening

The meeting was called to order by Mark Cornford at 7.30pm

Present:

Apologies:

The meeting was opened at 7.30pm by Mark Cornford, who welcomed a number of new

members

Mark Cornford Hazel Young Allan Smith

Lisa Wright Craig Copeland Chris Wood

Karen Bannister Shez Hides Louise Ruder

Nick Smith Rachael Chadwick Richard Barron

Margaret Barron Nicholas Barrett Gavin Gregory

Becky Seaton Safeena Hussein Louise Holden

Chris Dalton Jamie Dungworth John Garner

Kenny Geelan Matt Hirst Gail Fowers

Michelle Cooke Martin Mitchell Alan Greaves

Shauna Stone Alex Hughes Eleanor Hughes

Matt Horn Jack Hulley Lee Kelman

Lina Tamoliunaite Rachael Nyarko Sam Plummer

Lee Etches Carmen Andradas Kevin Leeming

Rob Hulley Kris James Lee Pollard

Dawn Glover Jamie Andrew Kate Chapman

Roger Powell Robina Karamdad Ian Broad

Paul Humphreys Ian Priest

Also present:

Matt Horn (potential member)

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Approval of Minutes from last meeting & Matters arising

There were no matters arising from the last meeting and the minutes were therefore approved.

Financial Report

A slide was shown indicating that the Association had made a profit of £2175 from the five

workshops it has run, this after deducting the costs for the workshops and also the costs in

providing free refreshments at local Association meetings. Treasurer Chris Wood explained that

there was expenditure on buying two TVs for use at the workshops and having a website

developed, and overall a profit of £496 had been achieved despite not asking members for

annual subscriptions.

Had the website not been done and the TVs not bought, the end of year profit would have been

significantly more.

Discussion then turned to how we could utilise the funds currently held by the Association, which

amount to over £6,600 (with more to come later this year) and this is detailed under AOB.

Election/re-election of Officers

Posts up for election/re-election were Secretary & General Committee Member. Allan Smith

confirmed he was happy to carry on for one more term as Secretary and was re-elected

unopposed. Dawn Glover had previously confirmed that she would be happy to stand down and

Becky Seaton was duly appointed as a General Committee member. Dawn was thanked for her

help over the last few years.

Membership Renewal Fee

There were two options on the table:

1. No renewal fee to be charged in future while ever the Association’s running of CPD

workshops generates enough money to fund normal activities

2. To reinstate the £15 per annum charge and refund when/if the member attends a training

workshop

The unanimous verdict was that we keep the ‘no renewal fee’ option while ever funds allow, and

this will be reviewed annually

Review of the Last Year

The Association ran 5 CPD workshops, and two First Aid courses, the first three at PJ Taste at

Attercliffe and the rest at Manor Oaks House, part of the Sheffield Manor estate on Manor Lane. It

was felt after the third workshop at PJ Taste that the limited car parking was a major issue and

also the quality of refreshments provided had deteriorated. We therefore searched for alternative

premises and Manor Oaks House was identified.

However, an issue with Manor Oaks was identified after two workshops and the First Aid courses

in that they couldn’t cater for our technical requirements and we have since identified Aizlewood’s

Mill on Nursery Street as the way forward. Two workshops have been held there since the end of

the period covered by this meeting with great success. We have also found new caterers for our

workshops in Kemps Bakery, and they have provided the buffet for tonight which was well

received by those present.

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The Julia Malkin workshop was specifically mentioned, the room having differing opinions - some

found the course useful in the information/knowledge they gained from it whilst others thought it

was poor, particularly in how Julia presented it and answered questions. It was suggested that

smaller groups might be a better option if we invite Julia back (which we have no plans to do in

2023)

Planning for 2024

We discussed who we could have come to Sheffield for next year to deliver workshops and it was

agreed we should sound out the following:

1. Knowledgeablee Instructor Training (yes, I have spelled it correctly) received very good

feedback and will be asked back again in 2024

2. We have contacted Lee Spary (The ADI Doctor) and Phil Hirst, who have both indicated their

willingness to visit us

3. Lynne Fitzharris (former DVSA staff & the lady who devised the Standards Check)) provided

us with an excellent presentation and will be invited back

4. Diane Hall - the expert in driving test nerves

5. Bob Morton - ex-national training director with LDC

6. Lou Walsh - probably the most well known trainer of PDIs in the country

It was also agreed that we would retain Aizlewood’s Mill as our venue of choice.

Attention then turned to who and what subjects we could potentially cover in local evening

meetings and the following were suggested:

1. Safeguarding

2. My DriveTime mobile app

3. Pensions & financial planning

4. Tax & self assessment

5. Running a business for new instructors

6. Local IAM/RoSPA talk

7. ORDIT training

Any Other Business

Sickness Scheme

It was suggested that details the Sickness Scheme be recirculated and Allan will do so asap

Association website

During the past year, the association has had a website developed which is now overseen by

Nick Smith, the web address of the website being either www.sddia.org or www.sddia.co.uk.

Nick presented a number of slides/views from the website and explained its purpose, in that it is

aimed at 3 sectors - the general public wanting to find an instructor, non-member ADIs either

looking for a Standards Check workshop and our own members looking for information. There is

a dedicated database for members to put their details on so the general public can make a

choice but to date, not every member has done so. We will email all members again to try and

improve this uptake. If anyone needs to contact Nick, his direct email address is

techsupport@sddia.org

We will also once again send out details of the 3 Facebook pages run by the Association.

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Utilising the Associations Funds

A suggestion was made that we maybe look into a type of business interruption or ‘hardship’

payment should a member’s car be off-road for any length of time. It was felt that this would not

be feasible and a further suggestion was made that we maybe start a credit union which would

avoid members having to go to loan sharks. We will explore this suggestion but the problem may

come in getting round credit rules. If anyone does have car problems, it was mentioned that our

member Martin Kay has a dual controlled diesel Ford Focus in his storage yard which members

can hire from him.

A further suggestion was put forward by the Committee that in order to stop the endless

accumulation of funds from the profits made by the workshops the Association runs, that the

Association provides a certain number of free places on each workshop for members of the

Association. This was well received and we will therefore explore this further with a view to

introducing it in 2024.

We are also looking into introducing Rescue Training, where by the Association will pay for up to

4 hours of extra training with an ORDIT registered trainer for any member who has failed 2

attempts at the SC. This training will only be for Standards Checks and not for Part 3’s, and will

only be available at the ‘3rd & final’ stage. The ORDIT trainer must also be a member of SDDIA, of

which there are currently two - Mark Cornford and Karen Bannister. However it is mentioned

above that training can be given to anyone wanting to become ORDIT registered.

Associate Membership

We have many returning ADIs from other parts of the country who attend our workshops and in

order to encourage them to keep coming, it was suggested that we introduce “Associate

Membership”, whereby they pay an annual fee but then get access to our courses at a reduced

rate.

We particularly want to encourage ADIs/PDIs from other local areas and it was agreed with John

Garner (an SDDIA member but also Chair of Worksop DIA) that we would send details of any

scheme to him to put to the Worksop DIA membership.

Memorial Bench

The bench at Handsworth to commemorate those ADIs who fell victim to the Covid pandemic is

now more or less falling apart. It was proposed and accepted that we look at replacing that

bench and refurbishing the plaques thereon, and also buying a bench for Middlewood test centre.

Allan had been in touch with Middlewood LDTM Russell Beckwith prior to the meeting and

Russell had indicated that this was acceptable and also that his examiners will bring the bench

inside the roller shutter at the end of each day to avoid any theft or vandalism.

Raising Awareness

Nick Smith suggested that we run a local show for the general public to attend and try to find an

instructor, and an additional suggestion came forward that, rather than run our own show which

could be expensive, we take out a stall at a local show (eg Sheffield Show at Graves Park) where

people could talk to us and find an ADI who is a member of the association. It was also

suggested that we go into the two universities and local colleges during Freshers Week and make

our presence known. Nick Smith has some bunting and flags we can use.

Sez Hides suggested we could try using Hillsborough Park car park for a small show of our own

so we will explore this option.

Finally…

Allan Smith thanked Nick Smith for his hard work on preparing slides for the meeting, work which

was appreciated by everyone present.

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Finally, Alex Hughes thanked the Committee for all their hard work, stating that he thought the

current Association was much more dynamic than the previous incarnation of Sheffield’s ADI

Association some years ago, and proposed paying an honorarium to committee members for

their hard work. Mark Cornford responded on behalf of the whole Committee, thanking Alex for

his suggestion but politely declining.

Date of next meeting

To be decided

The meeting was closed at 9.15pm

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