Students' learning abilities are being hampered by an over-reliance on screens, warns a former Ascot headteacher.

Former Heathfield School headteacher Jo Heywood assertions follow increased use of online learning tools and tablets at home, creating what she describes as a "perfect storm of arrested development".

Ms Heywood notes it's already resulting in a "sharp decrease" in handwriting skills, which, in turn, is negatively impacting children's performance in exams where penmanship is required.

Renowned for her stint at the prestigious Heathfield in Ascot, which boasts actress Sienna Miller and model Amber Le Bon as past pupils, Ms Heywood expresses concern over children's dependence on predictive text and screen usage.

She believes many will be incapable of spelling as a consequence.

A recent YouGov survey of teachers in England and Wales approximates that a staggering two million children are lagging in talking and comprehension skills.

Reflecting on these findings, Ms Heywood told The Express: "I believe speech development is definitely affected by screen overuse.

"Ms Heywood, currently a specialist mentor, mediator and advocate for students, schools and parents, voiced concerns over the trend of children heavily working on screens before mastering traditional skills like handwriting and spelling.

"She said: "Many schools are increasingly using apps to engage them and monitor their work in Maths and English which, of course, have the knock-on effect of increasing screen time."

While acknowledging the potential advantages of these apps, such as enabling teachers to scrutinise children's work and effectively plan lessons, she also warns they could be counterproductive.

If unaddressed, she warns this could develop into a significant issue.