485 teachers paid £65,000 annually or more

The transparent data was re-released after around 95 complains were submitted against the latest teacher recruitment advert. The 485 figure amounts to 0.1 per cent of the teaching workforce.

As a result of the complaints, including one submitted by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the Advertising Standards Authority launched an investigation into whether the advert’s claims were misleading.

The complaints mainly contended that advert’s claim that teachers can earn ‘up to £65k as a great teacher’. However, NUT executive member Martin Powell-Davies insisted the advert was deliberately misleading’ as only a ‘small proportion’ of teachers actually earned that rate.

A government spokesperson said: “Teaching is a hugely popular profession, and the number and quality of teachers in our classrooms is at an all-time high.

“They have the potential to earn up to £65,000 a year and these figures show hundreds do – and those in leadership roles can earn more.

“We will co-operate fully with the ASA. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

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