Strict laws around holidays after Britain's biggest family fined for £52,000 Disney trip

Important legal questions have been raised after Britain's biggest family were brutally fined for taking their children on a £52,000 holiday to Disney World.

As reported by LancsLive this week, reality TV stars Sue and Noel Radford - famed for parenting a grand total of 22 children - recently landed themselves in Preston Magistrates Court over the transatlantic trip.

For those unfamiliar with the Radford family, they first sky-rocketed into the spotlight back in 2012, after Channel 4 made them the focus of a true life documentary about mass parenting.

At the time, the couple only had 15 kids. Not only did Sue and Noel go on to welcome a further seven children of their own in the years that followed, but they also became grandparents to 11 brand new babies.

The Radfords have been fined for their Florida vacation (Instagram/@radfordfamily)

Since 2023, the couple have starred in the much-loved Channel 5 series, 22 Kids and Counting, along with sons Chris, 34, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 22, James, 19, Josh, 16, Max, 14, Oscar, 11, Casper, 10. (They also welcomed a stillborn son named Alfie in 2014.)

Their daughters - Sophie, 29, Chloe, 28, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Tillie, 13, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Bonnie, five and Heidie, four - also feature in the show.

Anyway, back to their holiday scandal - in April of this year, Sue and Noel revealed on Instagram that they, 21 of their children, and all 11 grandkids, would be flying to Florida to celebrate the former's 50th birthday.

Surprisingly, however, it isn't the unbelievable £52,000 cost of the fun-fuelled vacation - which covered both flights and accommodation for each child - that has caused quite the stir.

In fact, it's that Sue and Noel removed four of their children from school to make the lavish vacation a possibility.

The couple were forced to appear in court (Channel 5)

This decision recently landed the couple in court, where they were found guilty of depriving the four of receiving their vital education in favour of a holiday.

Since news of the Radfords' hefty fine broke earlier this week, concerns have been raised from fellow parents with regards to where UK currently stands on taking children out of school for non-essential reasons.

What many mums and dads seemingly failed to realise until now, is that the country's Department for Education last year introduced new fines for parents who allow their children to miss over 10 school sessions per year for unauthorised reasons. This, for reference, is the equivalent to five full days days.

Previously, between 2022 and 2023, a staggering 400,000 penalty notices were given to parents who removed their children from school without permission in England. As such, the penalty was implemented the following August, also in response to declining exam results and rising absences.

Ex-education minister Damian Hinds previously expressed hope that the restrictions would serve as 'deterrents' to put parents off the idea of taking their kids out of school for reasons like holidays - even if they're cheaper during term-time.

Sue and Noel Radford have 22 children (Instagram/@radfordfamily)

Since this ruling, local council have had the power to issue parents a fine of as much as £80 per child, which they're required to pay within a 21-day period. If they're unable to abide by this timeframe, the fee then soars to £160.

The same fee will also be applied if a further fine is issued within three years of parents being handed the original.

According to Gov.uk, there may be some exceptional circumstances whereby a child can be removed from school by their parents, but only if an official application is filed.

As such, in the case of the Radfords, for the four that Sue and Noel removed from school earlier this year in favour of Florida, they were forced to hand over £65 per child. On top of this, the couple were also required to cover a further £118 in legal costs, bringing their grand total to a £756 fine.