Driving Academy

Driving Academy is a television series for 7-13 year-olds, which originally broadcast on CBBC and BBC1 between 21st November and 5th December 2011, and is being repeated on BBC2 in summer 2012.

In the 10-part series CBBC viewers who are concerned about their parent’s poor driving nominate their father or mother to be rehabilitated at the fictional CBBC ‘Driving Academy’. Uniquely it uses a mass medium to encourage such critical thinking at just the age when children’s risk attitudes are developing and becoming set. For this reason the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) was keen to make the series available to road safety professionals through the Road Safety GB Knowledge Centre, so this important benefit can be delivered for a longer term.

Over two weeks at the Academy, the four children (aged 11-13) and their parents are given fun challenges and quizzes, including firsthand experience of driving (the children and parents!) on private land and in a safe, controlled environment with a high-graded Approved Driving Instructor. Sandra Dodson, the DSA’s Deputy Chief Driving Examiner, oversees the fun and judges their progress so they and the viewers can understand what it takes to be a safe and responsible road user.

Along with the resources on the Think campaign’s educational sites and the DSA’s In the Driving Seat PSHE resource (see links below) the series helps to instil the requirements of the DSA’s competence framework at the most appropriate ages.