‘It makes me feel safer knowing that we’ve had a test’

Sarah Farley, 35, from Essex, is mum to fouryear-old twins Oscar and Anya, and is married to Nick, 36

“We were grateful to receive a trial from my children’s school so we’ve been doing rapid tests for a while. Working one day a week as a teacher, I get tested regularly, but with me going between my own children and then into a different setting it’s hugely important for us to be tested. I do a test before I go to work and we do one over the weekend before Anya and Oscar go to school.

“It’s so important to keep everyone safe. Obviously we don’t change what we do based on the outcome – because we’re staying at home in lockdown – but it’s vital for those situations where I have to go into work and the twins have to go into school – it makes me feel safer knowing we’ve had a test.

“The tests are super easy to get hold of. We get them from the Government website so we don’t have to go anywhere. It’s a very easy process, they are posted out and the last batch we ordered arrived the very next day – it literally couldn’t be easier.

“Home schooling was obviously incredibly difficult and I was managing my business as well – I have a natural health and beauty company, Natural Mothers, and make all my own products. My husband Nick has his home office in the garden now. But I feel like I want to be done with that part. The children need to go back to school and I felt like I was holding my business back, too.

“We’ve been incredibly careful throughout the pandemic. My husband had cancer over 10 years ago and we don’t know how he’d be affected if he got coronavirus, so that’s why we’ve been so cautious. I don’t think it’s worth the risk.

“This year is a very short time in our whole life and I feel really passionate about sticking to the rules and staying home. As hard as it’s been, I think it gave me the need to recognise that we all needed to slow down and spend that time together.

“By doing these tests, we’re protecting other people. If we were asymptomatic but had Covid and didn’t know, the children and I could infect others.”