Selworthy Shoppers 2017/2018

Pupils from Selworthy School were invited in to Asda Taunton for a special shopping trip to pick up groceries for their school, using the supermarket’s Happy Little Helpers scheme.

The children were invited to test out the Happy Little Helpers initiative which makes shopping less stressful for children.

The colourful shopping lists show a range of items such as milk, bread and bananas that the child can tick off once they’ve been added to the trolley. Though the activity was originally designed for children with autism, it's available to all children. The board also has a clip so it can be easily fastened to a trolley during a shop.

Asda Taunton’s friendly bakery team gave the children a behind the scenes master class in pancake making, where they got the chance to see the sweet treats being whipped up. The store also made a donation of fresh fruit and vegetables towards the school.

Mary Ulrico, Community Life Champion at Asda Taunton, said: “The children loved the challenge of searching for the products on our Happy Little Helpers shopping list, and their faces lit up when they managed to find the items that they were looking for.

“The children especially enjoyed visiting the bakery department, seeing and tasting how the delicious pancakes are made fresh in store.” 

Cameron Merry, Selworthy School Fundraising Lead said: “We know from our parent carer’s that shopping, especially in big stores, can be a challenge for many of our learners. By having Happy Little Helpers available to our learners will make the shopping experience more positive for our families. 

“We would like to thank Mary and her team for welcoming us into the ASDA store for this trip and for the generous donations of fresh food for the school.”

The Happy Little Helpers scheme has been welcomed by the National Autistic Society.

Tom Purser, the charity's head of campaigns and public engagement, said: "The National Autistic Society is always delighted to hear about shops and services making small changes to ensure their venue is as autism friendly as possible. 

“Asda’s initiative is a great example of an organisation taking the trouble to understand how autistic children and adults experience the world and we hope other retailers are inspired to follow their example."