Julia Lang, of Long Buckby Wharf, presented it to Daventry MP Tim Boswell and Conservative parliamentary candidate for Daventry Chris Heaton-Harris on Friday (November 28).

Mrs Lang teaches her son at home. Her petition, with more than 100 signatures, is one of a national campaign of 300 petitions from across the UK protesting against proposed changes to home education laws in the Children, Schools, and Families Bill currently before Parliament.

Mrs Lang said: "One of the beauties of home education is the ability to tailor it to individual children, allowing for spending extra time on areas of difficulty, while progressing faster in areas of understanding. This debate is ongoing in Government circles pertaining to schools, with the debate over more personalised learning – home education is the ultimate in personalised learning.

"Ironically, under the proposed legislation, this is under threat.

"Home educating parents will be required to make annual plans in advance and will be measured against them. So changes in circumstances or a child needing to spend more time on a specific topic will result in registration being revoked and the child being sent back to school, against the wishes of both parent and child."

Currently local authorities are required to check that home educated children in their area 'as far as it is reasonable to do so' receive a suitable education 'according to their age and ability'. They also have the power to intervene and gain access to homes where there is evidence of abuse.

The new bill will see parents who want to educate their children at home having to register annually for permission to do so. Local authorities will also be given the right to enter homes and potentially interview children without a parent present.