Now for the pub on a school night! Striking teachers knock back pints after day ... trends now

Striking teachers were pictured enjoying a weeknight pint on a day which has nearly 80 per cent of secondary schools close or restrict attendance for pupils. 

Some 7million students were forced to stay home due to strikes as teachers marched through London and other UK cities.

The National Education Union also backed families to make 'strike boxes' containing food and drink to sustain the picket lines, where some youngsters were seen this morning.

Other pupils were asked to make placards, with one teacher's child shown by the National Education Union declaring: 'Tax the rich', with many marching in towns and cities this afternoon - blowing whistles and waving banners. Another child wrote an anti-Rishi Sunak slogan on the road in chalk.

Data from the Department for Education showed 70.6 per cent of secondary schools had restricted attendance for pupils on the day of the strike, with many opening only for children of key workers or those with disabilities. A further 8.7 per cent of secondary schools were closed altogether.

Vast numbers of students at 23,000 schools in England and Wales - many of whom already had their education badly disrupted during the pandemic - are missing lessons on Walkout Wednesday - the biggest day of strikes for over a decade. 

Sam Lyon, an English and drama teacher from Northampton, tweeted a picture of him and his family in a ball pool using the hashtag #teacherstrike.

He said: 'Today, whilst I strike, I am not catching up on school work. I'm catching up on my family who suffer the most from the amount of hours I have to work'. 

Mr Lyon did not say if the picture was taken today as teaching colleagues across the UK were on picket lines or attended rallies in towns and cities across the country including through central London to Westminster. 

Teachers on one picket line in Bristol said they were striking because they can't afford to buy a house or have their own children - and would be better 'stacking shelves in Aldi'. 

One union boss sparked anger after he compared his members to 'slaves' - but one parent remarked on the scene at his local school's picket line and said: 'This isn’t a strike. They are having a party'. Many children were seen outside schools with striking teachers, having been urged to make placards supporting them. 

But parents have expressed concerns for their child's education and their frustration at having to take emergency leave with one parent claiming that they didn't learn their school was closed until 8.30am this morning. 

Many striking teachers did not send any homework, leaving parents scrambling to set their own, amid the row over staff refusing to tell headteachers if they were coming into work.

One dad from Gloucestershire was forced to work from a soft play centre, tweeting a picture of his child crawling around and declaring: 'This is not where I thought I’d be doing today's emails from!!!'.

An estimated 85 per cent of English and Welsh state schools – up to 23,000 in all – are expected to close their doors to some or all of their pupils, who will be forced to stay at home with their striking teachers not setting them work.

On 'Walkout Wednesday', the striking teachers will join 100,000 civil servants, 70,000 university staff and thousands of train drivers and border force staff in staging industrial action.

A general strike in all but name, it is expected to cost the economy £200million and amount to a 'mini-lockdown', with 500,000 workers in total walking off the job and millions of people forced to work from home.

While as the Government tries to change the law to strip some critical workers of the right to strike in order to maintain minimum service levels, leader of the Aslef union Mick Whelan said members would be reduced to the status of a 'slave'.

Children of teachers and supporters were urged to make 'strike boxes' containing food and drink to sustain the picket lines. Other pupils were asked to make placards, with one teacher's child shown by the National Education Union declaring: 'Tax the rich'. Children were even seen on picket lines this morning.

Parents were in limbo because the National Education Union urged teachers to refuse to say whether they would turn up for work.

Downing Street led criticism of the tactic while Tory MPs accused union leaders of 'spoiling the lives' of working people, many of whom will be forced to take unpaid leave to look after their children.

There are also mounting concerns teachers who refuse to say whether they intend to strike could still get paid if schools are forced to pre-emptively close.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said she 'disappointed' that a strike by teachers in England and Wales is going ahead.

Ms Keegan told Times Radio the industrial action was unnecessary as discussions with the unions were continuing.

'I am disappointed that it has come to this, that the unions have made this decision. It is not a last resort. We are still in discussions. Obviously there is a lot of strike action today but this strike did not need to go ahead,' she said.

Ms Keegan said she did not know how many schools would be forced to closed due to the industrial action.

'We are hoping as many schools as possible stay open. We know that head teachers and other school leaders have been working really hard to keep schools open for as many kids as possible,' she said.

In a letter sent to schools by Education Secretary Ms Keegan and seen by The Telegraph, it was made explicitly clear that teachers involved in strike action are not entitled to be paid.

However, the waters become muddied when teachers are not forced to declare their intention to strike, and there are concerns staff could simply claim that they are working and therefore receive their pay. 

As a result, teachers are encouraged to turn up to school if they are not participating in strike action. They're likely to be asked to cover for those on strike, however they cannot be forced to do so. 

In other developments:

600 troops will be drafted in today to cover for striking public sector workers, including on airport passport desks; No 10 admitted the strike action would be 'very difficult' for the public; Voters are split over the strikes, with 40 per cent supporting them and 38 per cent opposed, an Ipsos poll found; The walkouts will leave Britain in a 'mini-lockdown' and cost the economy £94million directly, with hospitality taking a further £100million hit, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said; Unions representing 1.4million council and school workers, including refuse collectors, librarians, teaching assistants, care workers and cleaners, yesterday submitted a claim for above-inflation

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