The Instructor

AI is everywhere right now, writing posts, creating images, answering questions, and promising to save us time. But is it actually helping… or are we creating a whole new set of problems? In this episode, I’m joined by AI educator Colette Mason to dig into the growing world of “AI slop”, low-quality, inaccurate, AI-generated content that’s flooding social media and beyond. We explore the dangers o...

What happens when you take five specific problems from the driver training world and try to solve each one in just 15 minutes? In this episode, five mystery guests bring five very different challenges to the table. Some are practical, some are bigger-picture, and some may just send us down a few unexpected rabbit holes. Who are the guests? What are the problems? And do we actually solve any of the...

Travel back to 2021 for a remastered edition of The Instructor Podcast Extravaganza: six hours of live conversations with six brilliant guests. Terry is joined by San Harper, Emma Morgan, Lee Spary, Keir Wotherspoon, Robin Bates and Chris Bensted to explore mindfulness, instructor development, coaching, business, confidence and the realities of life as a driving instructor. It is also a fascinatin...

Sign up here This episode is exactly what it says on the tin — a shameless plug. Terry explains why he’s launching the first-ever IPP Summit on Sunday, 2nd August, what makes it more than “just another webinar”, and why driving instructors should consider being in the room live. The Summit features separate live CPD sessions across the day, with Stewart Lochrie, Adil Amarsi, Emma Cottington, Bob M...

Terry is joined by Peter Harvey, vice chair of the Motor Schools Association GB, to discuss the current state of the driving instructor industry. They unpack a massive list of challenges facing approved driving instructors, including skyrocketing test waiting times. Peter provides essential clarity on the controversial regulation changes that restrict instructors from booking tests directly for pu...

Donate to Brake In this special "From the Vault" episode, originally recorded in 2024 and newly remastered for 2026, Terry Cook sits down with Stewart Lochrie of Bright Coaching to look at road safety and instructor responsibility. Terry and Stewart tackle the tough topics that many in the industry turn away from. They dive deep into poignant lessons from road safety campaigners and bereaved paren...

Six top trainers. Six questions. Sixty seconds each. This Six 4 Sixty brings together a powerful panel to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing driving instructors right now, from test booking chaos and managing “I don’t know,” to CPD that actually changes how you teach. Expect honest takes on training PDIs in a broken system, practical tips for instructors stepping into training roles, and...

This From the Vault episode features Joe Wheatley and Zoe Hawkins from The Coaching Crowd , exploring the transformative shift from traditional instruction to a coaching-led approach. Discover the power of "Coaching the Gap" , the psychological space between a pupil's current ability and their goal, and learn why mastering emotions and limiting beliefs is as critical as technical skill. Terry and...

Five years ago, Terry Cook started with a microphone and a question. Today, after 250+ podcast hours and 1,000+ hours of private "brain-picking" with world-class experts, he’s distilling that journey into five essential truths. Terry is going "All In" for the rest of the year, building toward the IPP Summit this August. Priority access to this limited event is reserved exclusively for IPP Interact...

In this episode, Terry is joined by Rebecca Morris from Protect Young Drivers to explore one of the biggest challenges on our roads: young driver risk. Rebecca shares how Protect Young Drivers is evolving from a simple resource into a growing national movement, and how instructors can play a key role. There’s also discussion around graduated licensing, the proposed minimum learning period, and why...

In this archive episode from 2021, Terry speaks with performance psychologist Simon Hartley about mindset, motivation, and what it really takes to perform at your best. Drawing on decades of experience working with elite athletes, leaders, and organisations, Simon explores the characteristics that world-class performers share, including passion, curiosity, resilience, and a powerful sense of purpo...

To mark International Women’s Day 2026 , this special episode of The Instructor Podcast is hosted by Emma Fonnaland, who brings together Kate Monk, Diana Todd and Emma Cottington for an open and honest conversation about women in the driver training industry. The discussion explores how each guest entered the profession, the challenges they’ve faced along the way, and the experiences that have sha...

The very first Instructor Boardroom brings together a panel of familiar voices from across the industry to tackle the big questions facing driving instructors today. Terry Cook is joined by Tom Stenson, Andy MacFarlane, Laura Joyce, Ray Seagrave, Emma Cottington, Chris Bensted and Dan Hill for a wide-ranging discussion shaped by real questions from instructors. From the changing demand for manual...

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 mo...

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 l...

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,...

In the fourth and final instalment of In Conversation with Lee Jowett , Terry and Lee focus squarely on the DVSA , and a proposal that has sparked debate, frustration, and deep concern across parts of the industry. At the heart of this session is a simple but uncomfortable question: How can we assess driving instructors against standards that the assessment itself makes impossible to demonstrate?...

In the third instalment of In Conversation with Lee Jowett , Terry and Lee take a hard, honest look at where the driving instructor industry actually is right now. Lee opens by describing an industry at a crossroads: full of potential, but vulnerable if meaningful change doesn’t happen. While there are positives, particularly the mindset of newer instructors, there are also serious concerns about...

In this second In Conversation session, Terry and Lee Jowett step back from techniques, tests, and trends to ask a much bigger question: What actually matters in our industry? The discussion centres on outcomes, not instructor comfort, not box-ticking, and not social-media perfection, but what genuinely comes out the other end of driver training and onto the roads. Lee challenges some deeply ingra...

In this in-person conversation, Terry sits down with Lee Jowett to explore what really shapes a driving instructor, beyond passing tests, ticking boxes, and collecting certificates. Lee discusses his journey into the industry, why he never set out to be a trainer, and how discovering coaching fundamentally changed both his teaching approach and his personal identity. From early mentorship under Cl...

In this episode, Terry is joined by someone he’s been trying to pin down for years : Rachael Butler of Intelligent Instructor. And it was worth the wait. This is a conversation that goes well beyond the usual ADI chat. Rachel opens up about her journey, the realities of working within Intelligent Instructor, the thinking behind the events and awards, and the huge amount of unseen graft that powers...

Terry is joined by Kieran Williams, Project Manager for the Driver Mobility ADI Project, to explore one of the most significant pieces of research released this year for driving instructors, the newly published report examining the challenges, barriers, and opportunities within disability driving training. Over 605 ADIs took part in the survey behind this report, offering detailed insights into ho...

Terry sits down with psychotherapist and podcast host Richard Nicholls for a conversation that goes far deeper than International Men’s Day soundbites. What starts as a lighthearted catch-up quickly opens into something honest, warm, and surprisingly relatable. Richard breaks down what a psychotherapist actually does , before the two dive into the messy, complicated reality of being a man today: e...

For the 250th episode of The Instructor Podcast , Terry Cook is joined by Kate Monk, creator of My Learner Driver , a resource designed to improve private practice between learners and parents. Together, they explore how instructors can use their influence to make a real difference beyond test day. Kate shares the personal stories and local tragedies that inspired her to act, explaining how My Lea...

In this latest Six 4 Sixty, Terry Cook brings together a fresh team of ADI Avengers: Bob Morton, Kim Gibson, Emma Fonnaland, Tommy Sandhu, Stewart Lochrie, and Tom Stenson, for another rapid-fire round of six questions, each answered in 60 seconds. This episode dives into some of the biggest issues facing driving instructors today, from raising lesson prices with confidence to adapting communicati...