Mobile phones should be outlawed in classrooms so children can learn without screen time distraction, the United Nations said.

In a rare intervention the global peacekeeping organisation said a ban would enrich lives and improve safety.

Unesco, the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural arm, said a zero tolerance approach to smartphones during lessons would aid learning and protect children from online bullying.

And in a move widely-welcomed by teachers and parents it said digital technology, including artificial intelligence, could never become a substitute for “human-centred” education and face-to-face interaction, despite the hypnotic lure of the internet.

Unesco director general Audrey Aloza said: “The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education.

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“Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the wellbeing of students and teachers, not to their detriment.

“Keep the needs of the learner first and support teachers. Online connections are no substitute for human interaction.”

The unstoppable rise of tech has been a blessing and a curse for parents who have for years bemoaned the amount of screen time children use, while acknowledging smartphones are a critical way of staying in touch.

Official statistics reveal 95 per cent of those aged 40 and under own a smartphone. The figure is just 55 per cent for those aged 65 and over.

Excessive smartphone use has been associated with poor educational performance and screen time worsened children’s emotional stability, the agency’s research claims.

Unesco said: “Not all change constitutes progress. Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done. Those urging increasing individualisation may be missing the point of what education is about.”

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Last month Finland became the latest European country to ban mobile phones in classrooms in an attempt to stem a downward spiral of poor exam results.

The move followed a stance taken in Italy which has outlawed the use of mobiles in schools with teachers conducting a morning sweep.

Phones were first banned in French schools five years ago. In England, schools are free to set their own behaviour policies.

Schools minister Nick Gibb referenced Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher of Michaela Community School in North London, who requires students to lock phones into a locker when they arrive.

He said: “You’re not out with your friends. If you’re on this [phone] for six hours, you should be out with your friends, socialising, talking to your parents, doing your homework.

“Katherine talks about these children being up all night to 1am, tapping away on their mobile phones and then coming to school half asleep and therefore they are not concentrating.”

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