Dame Rachel de Souza commissioned a survey of 19,000 schools and colleges across the country, and found that nine out of 10 secondary schools already restrict smartphone usage on site.

In the report, she said: "It should always be their choice, based on their knowledge of what's best for the children in their own classrooms, not a direction imposed nationally by the government."

She pointed to the responsibility of parents and carers to manage their children's habits only, while technology companies need to "take responsibility for making the online world safe".

In the survey, it's claimed that 99.8 percent of primary and 90 percent of secondary schools already limit pupils' phone usage during the day.

While 76 percent of primary schools tell pupils to either hand in their devices or them in a secure space, 79 percent of secondary schools require them to be kept out of sight.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5Live, Dame Rachel insisted "the people with the real power here are the parents", as children as still using their phones for hours outside school time.

In a separate study she commissioned - which surveyed 502 eight to 15-year-olds - it was suggested that 69 percent of children spent more than two hours a day on a device, with 23 percent spending over four hours.

She also spoke to 'BBC Breakfast' and argued: "Parents have to remember they are not the friends of their children."

Rather, they should "protect their children [and] put the boundaries around them.