Abstract/Summary

In 2025 Digital Schoolhouse collaborated with the Institute of Education,University of Reading to evaluate perceptions of the development of esports initiatives in participating educational settings over time and its potential impact on these communities and their students. The study focused on three research questions: A. How was the DSH esports initiative introduced and implemented within participating schools, and what factors shaped its development? B. What impact did the initiative have on student engagement, inclusion, wellbeing, and educational or career aspirations? C. What challenges and barriers emerged during the initiative, and how might they be addressed to ensure equitable and sustainable delivery in the future? The data demonstrated that the structured, well-supported DSH esports programme had a clear and positive impact on student engagement, career awareness, school participation, and confidence of both students and staff. It also demonstrated that esports as a tool for social inclusion can be particularly impactful for marginalised as well as neurodivergent students, creating opportunities for social bonding, communication, and confidence-building. The DSH framework enabled teachers, even those with minimal experience in playing video games, to confidently run esports activities. For many, initial participation was seen as an exciting and supported experiment. After witnessing positive outcomes in the first year, schools and colleges chose to continue, with growing student demand often supporting schools to recognise and integrate esports in wider school practices. In some cases, teachers went on to organise their own in-house or trust-wide tournaments as well as enter external competitions. While the findings come from schools and colleges already within the DSH programme, and therefore benefitting from its low-barrier, high-support model, the results suggest that structured, well-resourced esports initiatives have strong potential to create lasting educational and social benefits. Future research could explore how these outcomes compare with esports programmes run without DSH’s extensive support.