A Bristol mum-of-four, who teaches her children at home, has helped to collect what is set to be the largest number of parliamentary petitions ever recorded.

Andrea Glenn asked her MP Doug Naysmith to take part in the presentation of the 200 petitions, as part of a national campaign to draw attention to the law governing the home education of children.

Currently, parents who educate their children at home have freedom to take any approach they feel will benefit their children.

But proposed recommendations to the Government would see more outside control, including officers given the power to gain access to every home-educated child and interview them without their parents being present.

Accompanied by two of her children, Mrs Glenn, 38, handed over the petition to the Bristol North West MP yesterday. Mrs Glenn, who is married to Peter, and lives in Patchway, said: "Currently home educating parents have freedom to tailor their educational provision to fit their children's needs and personalities and can adopt whichever approach they deem suitable.

"If the proposed changes make their way into law, this may no longer be possible for many families who, like mine, choose a very 'alternative' approach to their children's education.

"As autonomous or child-led educators, we allow our children space and support to grow and learn according to their own interests and strengths without an externally imposed curriculum.

"We believe that children are hard-wired to learn from birth, to acquire information and experiences and to understand and participate in the world they live in.

"Children may however switch off this natural drive if they have little or no control over their learning environment, then learning becomes not a joy but a chore."

Mrs Glenn's eldest child Sam, nine, taught himself to read at the age of seven. The couple's other children are Keziah, seven, Zoe, five, and George, two.

Mrs Glenn said: "It was amazing to see Sam acquire this skill almost effortlessly because he was ready and had not been forced into it too early or with an approach that didn't suit him. My second child loves numbers and calculating, she can solve puzzles that I can't get my head round at all despite my years of formal schooling.

"I would be devastated to have to artificially channel all their natural enthusiasm just so we could be seen to be ticking boxes for someone else's benefit."

A normal day in the life of Mrs Glenn's children includes a time for socialising with other children, a sporting activity, and learning what they are interested in through book and computer games in a "learning-rich environment" at home.

Before having children, Mrs Glenn worked as a social worker, and her husband is a site manager for a pupil referral unit in Filton. Mrs Glenn estimates that about 1,000 children in Bristol are home-educated.

The proposed changes, arising from the recommendations made in the Government-commissioned review of home education by educationalist Graham Badman, include compulsory registration with the local education authority and closer monitoring of home educated children.

The petitions will be presented in parliament in advance of the second reading of the Children and Families Bill.