The Entertainer rolls out Quiet Hour to create calming environment for autistic children
High street toy retailer The Entertainer is introducing a weekly Quiet Hour in its stores as it looks to create a more welcoming environment for children with autism.
The move follows a successful pilot during February’s half term when the retailer switched off music in-store for the first hour of opening.
Gary Grant, founder and managing director of The Entertainer, said: “It was great to hear the positive feedback from customers who had visited an Entertainer store during the daily Quiet Hour, which was held during half term and as a result we are delighted to announce the introduction of a weekly Quiet Hour.”
The Entertainer’s Quiet Hour is being held every Saturday morning across all 145 stores.
Daniel Cadey, autism access development manager for The National Autistic Society, said: “We’re delighted that The Entertainer is taking this positive step to make shopping a better experience for autistic children. Small changes such as removing in-store music can make a huge difference to autistic people, who can struggle to filter out background noise which can cause them enormous distress. We hope to see other stores follow The Entertainer’s lead and make whatever changes they can to support the needs of all their customers.”
