British Esports Association Partners with the NSPCC

A focus on safety in gaming as the British Esports Association partners with the NSPCC.

The British Esports Association has announced that they are creating a new parents guide in collaboration with the NSPCC. They want to provide parents and guardians information about the world of esports and online gaming in general.

The Guide

The guide was created to not only provide information about online safety but also spread awareness among parents and the older generations about esports and its viability as a hobby or career.

Parents could use the guide to expand their knowledge of the industry, the benefits of their children being involved and how some of the skills learnt through esports can be used in alternative industries.

The contents of the guide include:

•         Information about the British Esports Student Champs
•         Benefits of esports
•         Esports in education
•         Academic pathways
•         Inclusivity and diversity in esports
•         How you can get involved with your child
•         Parents testimonials
•         Online safety

Obviously, the most important part of the guide is the online safety portion. They want to help parents in their safeguarding and keeping young people safe while partaking in esports. The resource also raises awareness of digital wellbeing and online safety. This portion of the guide was backed and approved by the NSPCC and has a specific online gaming focus.

Comments from the British Esports Association

Tom Dore, Head of Education at British Esports Association, said:

“At British Esports we’re helping to establish industry standards for safeguarding and keeping young people safe online. Developing the Parent & Carer guide in collaboration with NSPCC has allowed us to celebrate many of the positives around esports, and also highlight important issues around safeguarding and online safety.

It is crucial as an industry that we’re doing everything we can to keep young people safe while participating in esports. We should look to traditional sport, and other established industries, to learn from their ongoing work. British Esports strongly encourages all stakeholders in the esports industry to scrutinise their own practise around their work with young people and prioritise safeguarding and online safety throughout their organisations.”

Christian McMullen, Head of Professional Engagement added:

“The NSPCC is delighted to have worked with British Esports on developing a supporting guide for parents and carers to help them understand the industry and the steps they are taking to keep their children safe. 

We want to empower parents with the confidence, knowledge and tools they need to identify, and report concerns in their children’s sports, and the online world is no different.”

The need for the guide

Of course, the online safety portion of the guide is the most important part in the short to medium term, but the fact that a guide was created specifically for the parents or guardians of young esports enthusiasts could have a huge impact on the future of esports in Britain.

Imagine how many parents are wary of their child or teen playing games online or spending too long in front of a computer or games console. If this guide works in the way that is supposed to, many more parents may be more willing to support their kids when they develop an interest in esports. We could be talking about a new guide that expands the roster of the future UK esports scene.