A TV advert that suggested beginner teachers could earn £34,000 a year has been banned by the regulatory body.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) branded the advert misleading because it suggested teachers’ starting salary was about £14,000 higher than the real one of £20,133 for outer London. The £34,000 salary was only available after several years of service.
The Training and Development Agency for Schools, which launched the ad, said it was not trying to suggest that new teachers could earn more than £30,000, although it was possible for a teacher in their twenties to be earning that amount.
However, after receiving just two complaints from viewers, the ASA upheld the advert should not run again in its current form.
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It said: “The ASA understood the salary range for a teacher was £20,000 to £51,000 and that some could potentially earn £34,000 in their late twenties, ie, five years after they qualified. However, we considered that the claim “You could earn 34 grand a year” in conjunction with the very youthful appearance of the teacher, and “Turn your talent to teaching”, suggested that £34,000 was the salary for young newly qualified teachers. Because it was not, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.”
Some 32% of teachers in London earn £34,000 or more, while 45% of teachers in England, excluding London, earn the same amount or more.
