Reaseheath’s continuing efforts to ensure our campus remains Covid secure have been recognised as a template for best practice.

Our Covid-19 rapid lateral flow test centre has been judged to be operating to the highest standard by Cheshire East Council and has received much positive feedback from visiting professionals from local schools who are eager to learn from our experience.

Based in the Lord Woolley Centre, our drop-in testing facility, which is currently open from 8.15am to 10.30am daily, offers rapid swab tests for the limited number of students and staff accessing college. The tests – which show results within an hour – improve the detection of positive cases in individuals who are yet to show symptoms and help to prevent onward transmission. The testing team are staff volunteers who have been through strict online and onsite training before taking up their roles.

The swab tests have been supplied by the government, which classes education employees as critical workers and advises that staff who need to access campus should have a lateral flow test weekly to ensure they are negative. According to the Department of Health and Social Care, one in three people who have Covid-19 do not display symptoms so these tests are a key part of our COVID-secure campus arrangements.

So far we have tested over 250 students and staff and had just one positive case which was confirmed through a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, carried out at an NHS run testing centre. This triggered a full PPE change and a deep clean of our testing centre.

Other safety measures which continue to be followed campus-wide include regular hand washing or sanitising, face coverings being worn in communal spaces and a strict adherence to social distancing.

Our Principal Marcus Clinton emphasised: “At Reaseheath we take the health and welfare of our students and staff very seriously and we are continuing to follow government guidance to help contain the virus. Our campus has proved to be a safe place and extra measures such as our testing centre, which required significant forward planning, have greatly contributed to this positive outcome.

“These enhanced safety measures are allowing us to support our staff and the small number of vulnerable students, those whose parents are key workers and the few degree level students who need occasionally to be on site.

“All diploma, degree and apprenticeship programmes will continue to be delivered remotely until we are able to ease restrictions and allow face to face delivery once more. Our staff are working incredibly hard to ensure the best possible remote learning experience in these challenging times.

“We understand that this an unprecedented and worrying time for everyone. Our priority as ever is to provide our staff, students and apprentices with an engaging and safe learning experience and we are determined to continue to do this in the face of such challenges.”