Calm instruction.
Uncompromising standards.
I’m Daryl Keightley, a DVSA Approved Driving Instructor in Northampton. I teach people to drive well, not just to pass – and I work to raise the standard of the profession that trains them.
Learning to drive, done properly
Structured, one-to-one lessons built around where you actually are – not a fixed script. Patient teaching, honest feedback on your readiness, and a plan that gets you to test day with real skill underneath, not just luck.
Once you’ve passed, Pass Plus is available if you want to keep building experience in motorway, night and bad-weather driving.
How lessons work
- Patient, calm teaching. No shouting, no making you feel small.
- Honest readiness checks. You’ll know where you stand before you book a test.
- Client-centred, not scripted. Built around what you need, not the next page of a syllabus.
- Pass Plus registered. Available once you’ve passed, for motorway, night and bad-weather driving.
Part 3 preparation for PDIs
Most instructors work alone. There is very little professional infrastructure around this job – you spend years with nobody in the passenger seat who can tell you what you’ve started doing without noticing. This session closes that gap before you even qualify.
It’s the same structure as my Standards Check session, aimed at your qualifying examination: run by a peer who is accountable to the same association, standards and regulator you are – not an examiner, and not a training school selling you a course.
What the session covers
- A full mock check. Run properly against the DVSA competence framework.
- An honest read on where you stand. Precisely what would cost you marks on the day.
- Client-centred learning in practice. The area most PDIs are marked down on.
- Written feedback against each competence, so you have something to work from.
- Confidential. Nothing said in the car goes anywhere.
Standards Check preparation & CPD
A full mock Standards Check, a proper debrief, and an honest read on where you’d actually grade – no theory lecture, no repackaged DVSA guidance you could read yourself.
I chair KADDIA, the Kettering & District Driving Instructors Association, because instructor isolation is the profession’s biggest quality problem. This session is the same thinking, one to one.
What the two hours cover
- A full mock Standards Check. Run to the real format, against the DVSA competence framework.
- An honest grade estimate. Where you’d land today, and what’s costing you marks.
- Risk management. The competence that fails most people, and why.
- Written feedback against each competence.
- Peer, not judge. I’m an instructor, not an examiner – nothing said here goes anywhere.
Everyone is welcome here
Whoever you are, whoever you love, however you identify, whatever your background, faith, disability or first language – you will be treated with respect in my car. If there is anything that would make a lesson feel safer or easier for you, tell me before we start and we will sort it out.
An instructor first. An advocate second.
Most people arrive carrying something – nerves, a bad experience with a previous instructor, or a test date creeping closer than their ability. My job is to take the noise out of it and build real capability underneath: honest feedback, clear explanations, no shortcuts and no fear-based selling.
Away from the car I lead and support other instructors, because the quality of driver education in this country is decided by the people delivering it. I’d rather leave you a competent, self-aware driver than a fast pass with gaps you find out about on your own, later, in the rain.
Accreditations & recognition
- DVSA Approved Driving Instructor
- DVSA Pass Plus registered
- Chair – KADDIA (Kettering & District DIA)
- Head of Operations – Mind The Road
- Member – ADI National Joint Council
- Member – Driving Instructors Association
- Member – MSA GB
Associations & partnerships
I hold myself to the standards of the bodies I belong to, and I work alongside a wider road safety initiative to raise standards across the profession.
I’m Head of Operations at Mind The Road, a road safety initiative, alongside strategic partner My Learner Driver. Together we deliver road safety education including The Honest Truth programme, in lessons and in workshops.
What people say
Real recommendations from my Facebook page, copied word for word.
“My driving instructor Daryl was the best and I recommend this driving school to any new drivers. Daryl was absolutely smashing, he worked extremely hard to work towards my learning needs, I feel he understood me really well, and helped me pass first time.”
Josh B. – Facebook recommendation
“Driving lessons with Daryl is always fun and engaging, I’ve learnt so much and he has helped me improve my skills as a driver. He is always calm and approachable. Would 100% recommend.”
Helen A. – Driving instructor, Facebook recommendation
“By far the best instructor in the game! I honestly recommend Daryl to anyone, whether they’re brand new on their learning journey or just polishing off their skills. He is patient and professional.”
Maja P. – Facebook recommendation
Get in touch
Tell me a bit about what you need – learning to drive, PDI support, or Standards Check preparation – and I’ll reply personally.
- Email daryl@instructordaryl.co.uk
- WhatsApp Message on WhatsApp
- Facebook facebook.com/InstructorDaryl
- LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/darylkeightley
- Based in Northampton & Kettering
- Registered office Verulo Group Ltd, MPBC, Redhouse Road, Northampton, NN3 6AQ