Young children are spending hours on internet every day

NEARLY a quarter of children spend more than four hours a day on phones, tablets or gaming consoles.

- Katie Harris and Martyn Brown

A study for the Children's Commissioner found another quarter use them for two to three hours while one in five are on them for three to four hours, the YouGov poll of eight to 15-year-olds in England found.

Dame Rachel de Souza also found in a separate survey of 15,000 schools that the majority now have policies to restrict pupils from using mobile phones on the premises.

In February last year, schools were given non-statutory government guidance intended to stop their use.

Dame Rachel is now calling for "stronger action" to protect children from harmful online content beyond the classroom, including a possible social media ban for under-16s and restricting smartphone use.

She said parents needed support in managing their children's online activities and setting "appropriate boundaries" as part of a "whole-society approach" to keeping young people safe.