COVID-19 POLICY


POLICY UPDATE!
UPDATE 27/4/22


Some of our instructors will insist on their clients all having test and trace on their phone. Your instructor reserve's the right to not teach a client if they don't. Though you will be able to quickly download it on your first lesson to satisfy your instructor, safety requirement.

Though this isn't a legal requirement, some of our team are from a vulnerable household and to ensure they can continue teaching in a safe environment some have implemented this safety measure for their teaching environment and their and public safety.

Due to the rising cases of COVID-19, our instructors will have the final say as to when clients can recommence driving lessons. Our instructors must feel that you are safe, well, and fit and able to have lessons and come from a COVID-19 free environment.

If you are contacted by NHS test and trace by the app or by call, email, door knock, or suspect you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 symptoms, you must immediately isolate yourself for 14 days by law. Driving lessons will only recommence once you, the pupil, provide a negative test result for COVID-19 Post 14 day isolation period. If you are unable to supply your COVID test results to your instructor, your lessons WILL NOT recommence until you are able to do so. This ensures the safety of our instructors, their families, and our clients and reduces the spread of the virus.

To understand how the NHS testing works for positive, negative, and unclear COVID-19 test result, please click this link. Our driving instructors have final say on recommencing driving lessons and must feel 100% safe that you and your household is no longer a exposure risk.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/what-your-test-result-means/

Click the link here to understand what to do if your told to self isolate:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/nhs-test-and-trace-if-youve-been-in-contact-with-a-person-who-has-coronavirus/

Click this link to understand what to do if you or your household tests positive, you live with someone who tests positive, or have been told by NHS test and Trace or app to isolate:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/how-long-to-self-isolate/

You can order from the government website a self testing kit for COVID-19. Please click the link and fill in the form.

https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

Whilst some of our instructors have been going above and beyond with our policy, and a fair few our team have been conducting lessons with facemasks, both instructor and client

Lessons

Please see our full terms and conditions.


When restarting or starting the first driving lesson our terms and conditions will be explained, as well as a shortened version of our COVID-19 secure policy. You will need to bring your own pen to your first driving lesson to sign off the terms and conditions.


Our policy covers the following key areas:


  • Lessons from home address
  • Cashless payment
  • Face masks
  • Client and instructor communication
  • Safe teaching environment
  • Sanitisation


All customers booking lessons for the first time and pre-existing clients must read our policy in full. If you are a new client you will need to acquire two face masks before you can start driving lessons.


COVID-19 SECURE Teaching policy for clients and instructors

 

Driving lessons duration


The risk of exposure is higher with seeing more clients for one-hour lessons compared to one-and-a-half, and two-hour lessons, BubbLe Driving School  has suspended one-hour driving lessons for the foreseeable future. This is to reduce risk and contagion spread for all clients and instructors alike. This is under constant review.


Air bridges and UK holidays


If you have travelled abroad with the governments green list, amber list, red list you will need to self isolate from your instructor for 14days post-arrival back to the UK before you can recommence driving lessons.

This is to ensure the safety of our team of instructors and their other clients from the risk of possibly being infected. This is due to your travel arrangements, you will have been in a environment of mass people gatherings and could be a carrier or infected. Communication is key, please make your instructor aware if you are planning to travel abroad.

The instructor will only conduct lessons from your home address.

As the risk of viral spread, the risks must be reduced for both you the client, and your instructor, this is why all driving lessons will ONLY be conducted from your home address. At this time lesson pick up from schools, your place of work, or any environment that is not your residence will not be permitted, this will be under constant review.

 

All driving lessons are to be paid electronically ONLY! Cash will not be accepted.

Throughout lockdown, it was highly recommended to pay via contact-less options aka, bank transfers, chip and pin, wireless payments. With the medical advice stating the virus can be on cash and remain there for up to 72 hours. To protect both you the client and the instructor from the risk of spread and contagion, all our instructors are now cash-free business. We will not except lesson payment via cash or cheques.

All driving lessons are to be paid electronically ONLY! Cash will not be accepted.

Throughout lockdown, it was highly recommended to pay via contact-less options aka, bank transfers, chip and pin, wireless payments. With the medical advice stating the virus can be on cash and remain there for up to 72 hours. To protect both you the client and the instructor from the risk of spread and contagion, all our instructors are now cash-free business. We will not except lesson payment via cash or cheques.
 

As government announced on Saturday 27th November that all shops, public transport, and secondary schools that Facemasks will be mandotory, all people staff and customers Will be required to wear masks for their duration of their visit. BubbLe Driving school policy will be extending this and this applies to our clients and driving instructors*, As of Monday 29th November 2021 all our team will only be conducting lessons if both the client and the instructor is wearing a face mask.

 

Face masks are a preventive measure preventing exhaling of COVID-19 and other bacteria and viruses. It is on this basis that this is our policy. Your instructor may wear face masks during lessons. If a client refuses to wear a mask or forgets then the lesson will be cancelled and will be charged. STRICTLY NO DIY home made face coverings. If you turn up to the lesson with a home made face covering your lesson will not go ahead and will be charged.

 

Pupils are required to bring a spare face mask for lessons as well. All masks must be fresh/clean and only put on outside before entering the vehicle to avoid contamination.



 *unless medically exempt, instructor may ask for proof of exemption.



Communication

The instructor will contact you within 24 hours before each of your driving lessons. This is to ensure you are safe to have your lesson. If You or your household/residence have any of the virus symptoms communicate this immediately to your instructor. All lessons will be suspended, and you and your household must self isolate for 14days before lessons can recomence or no symptoms arise post 14days isolation from your instructor.

 

If you come down with virus symptoms within 96 hours post your driving lessons, you must communicate this immediately to your instructor and your lessons will be suspended until instructors are satisfied you and your household is clear of the virus. This is to also protect your instructor so they can get themselves tested.
 

Clients must ensure full communication with their instructor at all times, if they or their household/bubble network have suspected symptoms, the instructor must be alerted to this immediately.

 

If you, the client, fail to inform the instructor of exposure, lessons will be cancelled and charged, as the instructor will have to go into isolation. If you have paid for a block booking, the lessons that were booked whilst your instructor has to self-isolate will be cancelled and charged for client communication failure.

Test and Trace

Some of our instructors will insist on their clients all having test and trace on their phone. Your instructor reserve the right to not teach a client if they don't, though you will be able to quickly download it on your first lesson to satisfy your instructor, safety requirement.

Though this isn't a legal requirement, some of our team are from a vulnerable household and ensure they can continue teaching in a safe environment.

Recommencing driving lessons

Due to the rising cases of COVID-19, our instructors will have the final say as to when clients can recommence driving lessons. Our instructors must feel that you are safe, well, and fit and able to have lessons and come from a COVID-19 free environment.

If you are contacted by NHS test and trace by the app or by call, email, door knock, or suspect you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 symptoms, you must immediately isolate yourself from your instructor for 14 days. Driving lessons will only recommence once you and the instructor agree that its safe to do so.


If you have been told to isolate and have had a covid-19 test done, you must supply a copy of your result, which must contain your name, to your instructor before they can recommence lessons with you. If you are unable to supply your COVID test results to your instructor, your lessons WILL NOT recommence until you are able to do so. This ensures the safety of our instructors, their families, and our clients and reduces the spread of the virus.


Driving lessons and how the learning environment will be protected. 

Upon starting your first lesson, your instructor will make contact you within 24 hours before every lesson. To make sure you are fit and well to have that booked lesson.

 

When your instructor arrives at your address, they will sanitise their vehicle before the lesson commences. Please see our sanitisation section. Before you leave the house, you the pupil MUST thoroughly wash your hands according to W.H.O (World Health Organisation) hand-washing guidelines.

 

Clients will also need to wear suitable clothing for lessons, the current guidance in the vehicle with people from different households is to ensure your arms legs and body and foot wear that does not expose bare skin. Meaning no sandals, flip-flops or crocks. In general, keep as clothed up as possible. At this moment in time, any clients who fail to do so will result in lesson cancelation. This is due to the touching and transferring of bacteria and viruses.

 

Your driving instructor will greet you outside the vehicle, you will need to put your face mask on first, then your instructor will issue you a hand sanitiser. Make sure you thoroughly sanitise your hands.

 

All lesson briefings and discussions will where possible be conducted outside your teaching vehicle, during your training inside the vehicle the windows will be open. During the colder times of year we advise to bring warm clothing. This is advised as airflow from window to window will reduce the risk of further spread of contagion. During your lessons, the ventilation system will be on, however all vents will only be permitted to be angled to your body and NOT your face. This will also reduce risk of contagion. If the vents are on your face, you are risking the teaching environment your instructor and yourself as well as other client’s safety, this is due to the strong airflow and facial virus and bacteria spread.

 

If you need to make any adjustments to your face mask, inform the instructor so you can be guided to a safe position to make any necessary adjustments, once you have done this you will need to re sanitise your hands BEFORE touching any surfaces in the car.

 

Your instructor may wear a face mask* in lessons, though the current guidance from insurance companies is that it may hinder the communication of instruction and could result in an invalid insurance policy.

 

If you wish to wear gloves to lessons you are more than welcome, but before you do communicate this to your instructor and check that they are not allergic to the material gloves you intend to wear.

 

All lesson payments will only be through bank transfers, PayPal, chip, and pin terminals. Please ask your instructor what method of payment works best with you both. BubbLe Driving School and all its instructors are now a CASH LESS business. This has been decided as current advice is to avoid using cash as viruses and bacteria can remain on coins and notes for up to 72 hours.

 

At the end of your driving lesson, your instructor will sanitise the vehicle fully before they leave you. This is to protect the instructor whilst commuting between clients. At the end of every working week, your instructor will complete a deep sanitisation of the vehicle including all control surfaces and seats to further reduce the risk of contagion and spread.

 
*unless medically exempt.

Vehicle sanitisation

 

We will be working tirelessly to make sure the teaching environment is as safe as we can possibly make it.

 

Our instructors will sanitise the vehicle at the start and end of every lesson. This will reduce the risks of contagion to both clients and your instructor.


Below are our guidelines that have been issued to our instructors on the sanitisation policy:

 

  • steering wheel
  • stalks both sides of the column
  • gear lever
  • handbrake
  • seat adjuster’s
  • seat belt
  • seatbelt clasp and lock
  • windows front window shield and driver’s door window.
  • door handles inside and out as well
  • door panel full sanitisation
  • car key
  • ignition lock for the key
  • window controls
  • mirrors controls
  • central mirror all surface
  • face vents (not aimed at the body)
  • ancillary controls.
  • full driver’s seat wipes down inc. headrest. (alcoholic wipes)
  • cupholders middle car and door sides
  • glove box handle and interior

 

Driver and passenger seats

If your instructor has leather seats, they will also wipe this down before you get inside the vehicle and at the end of your lesson. The sides, headrest, metal bars, back cushion, and the bottom cushion will all be sanitised with alcoholic wipes of 60%+ alcohol content. This also applies if your instructor has waterproof seat protectors.

 

End of week Deep clean,

At the end of every working week, our instructors will complete a deep clean sanitisation. In addition to above, all other seats and headrests, windows, boot, door trims, door handles and boot handle/button, bonnet catch, and release, all other cup holders will be cleaned once a week.

 

The safety measures we have within this policy are our COVID-19 secure policy and is to reduce the risks to you and our instructors to the best of our ability.

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