Council's esports plan 'puts pupils at risk of gambling harms', parents claim
Parents have said the new esports plans and resulting screentime could further damage their children’s health and wellbeing
Parents have said council plans to embed esports in the curriculum are putting their children at risk of online harms and gaming addiction.
Scottish Borders Council (SBC) plans to roll out a National Progression Award (NPA) in esports across its secondary schools.
It follows a pilot in Selkirk High School where pupils study the background and history of computer gaming, a multi-billion pound global industry.
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One mother, who asked not to be named, said she and her husband are so concerned about screen use in SBC classrooms they are considering moving home.
She said: “My young child has come home from school reporting that the class are playing competitive, multiplayer games that feature gambling style, coin-based engagement mechanisms.
“This is despite the fact that we have have formally revoked internet use due to previous concerning incidents.”
A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council said esports is not part of the Physical Education curriculum in its schools and is not replacing physical activity or PE lessons.
However, it is part of Scottish Borders Sport and Physical Activity Strategy.
“This is a council-wide strategy covering communities of all ages across the region and should not be confused with the PE curriculum delivered in schools,” the spokesman said.
Parents say they are concerned the council is embedding competitive video gaming into education, youth development and public policy.
They say SLB is simultaneously failing to address legitimate concerns about screen time, gaming addiction, online harms, safeguarding and commercial influence.
The mother added: “I would be interested to know if SBC have carried out any risk or impact assessments with regard to their new strategy to embed video gaming into “sports and physical education”.
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“Clearly this carries risks for physical and mental health, and the last thing that children in SBC schools need is more screens.
“My husband and I are seriously considering leaving this Borders due to these issues.”
A campaign group of local parents cites a growing body of evidence around problematic gaming, excessive screen use, gambling-related harms linked to esports ecosystems, toxic online environments and wider safeguarding concerns.
They said: “At a time when parents, teachers and health professionals are increasingly worried about children’s relationship with addictive technology, SBC appear determined to normalise even more screen-based activity in schools.
“There is also a wider issue with how technology is increasingly being presented as an unquestionable good within education.
“Esports is, by definition, a sedentary screen-based activity, yet Scottish Borders Council has bizarrely chosen to embed it within its Sport and Physical Activity Strategy.”
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Mother of two Rachel Studzinski, whose children both have additional support needs (ASN), said: “Knowing what my children are already being exposed to, it's an additional threat that's in the pipeline.
“We are particularly concerned around the gamification and the reward-based approach to much of learning.
“It's one thing to say it's a digital era and our children need to be equipped for that, but it's another thing to then make it a part of every single activity within the school.”
Mrs Studzinksi has raised her concerns with the local authority but feels she has been dismissed.
She says her daughter has been exposed to inappropriate materials on websites she would not have had access to at home.
She said: “I drop my kids off in the morning and children are sitting on steps playing Minecraft, so they’re not moving in the playground.
“Then they go into school and they’re engaged with more screens.
“The council has made a decision that impacted on parental rights so heavily that we no longer have rights.
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