EventWell has introduced a new Quiet Room Safety & Supervision Standard (QSSS™) in response to growing concerns about how quiet rooms are being implemented across the UK events industry.
Quiet rooms have become increasingly common at conferences, exhibitions, festivals and sporting events as organisers look to support neurodivergent attendees, people with anxiety and anyone experiencing sensory overload. But according to EventWell founder Helen Moon, many of these spaces are falling short of basic safety requirements.
In a blog announcing the launch, Moon said the industry has a problem “no one wants to talk about”.
“There are many quiet rooms in UK events that are not safe. And they’re not safe because they’re not supervised,” she said.
Moon added that well-intentioned spaces are often poorly executed - featuring bright lighting, no staff presence and no procedures for supporting attendees in distress. Some end up being used as crew breakouts, phone-call rooms or storage areas.
EventWell has spent four years delivering supervised SensoryCalm™ spaces at major events, and Moon said the evidence is clear: unsupervised quiet rooms can pose safeguarding risks, leaving vulnerable attendees without support and sending the message “you can take a break, but you’re on your own”.
New industry standard
QSSS™ aims to introduce a consistent, safety-led framework that outlines the minimum requirements for responsible quiet-room provision. The standard focuses on:
- Mandatory trained supervision
- Trauma-informed and neuroinclusive mental health first aid training
- Monitoring and de-escalation procedures
- Safeguarding and crisis-response protocols
- Safe layout and sensory design
- Incident reporting and continuous improvement
Three certification levels - Silver, Gold and Platinum - are available to make the standard scalable for events of all sizes.
Moon said the standard was created after witnessing wide variation in how quiet rooms are delivered, despite their increasing inclusion in ED&I frameworks.
“Quiet rooms are easy to get wrong, and when they’re wrong, they can put people at risk,” she said. “We owe attendees safety, support and dignity.”
EventWell hopes the QSSS™ will help the sector shift from good intentions to meaningful responsibility. Moon said the industry has an opportunity to lead the way on neuroinclusion by adopting evidence-based guidelines.
“QSSS™ isn’t about making things complicated, it’s about making things safe,” she added. “It protects attendees. It protects organisers. And it raises the bar for what meaningful inclusion really looks like.”
EventWell is inviting venues, organisers, associations and suppliers to adopt the standard as demand for supportive spaces continues to rise.
