Attendance News

Everyday Counts

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our second Attendance Newsletter for 2025. We publish an Attendance Newsletter each term outlining our attendance rate. Templestowe Park Primary School has been identified by the Department of Education as a school that is required to improve student attendance. It is our aim to improve our attendance and it is a goal in our 2025 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).

2025 AIP Goal:

By the end of 2025 decrease the percentage of students with 20 or more days absence from 36% (2024) to 22%.

We are working very hard to improve attendance so our students can have the very best opportunity to reach their learning potential and build strong social relationships.

Term 2 Attendance Update

Each term, the following graph and table will be published to indicate how our entire school is tracking towards our attendance goals. Please keep the following information in mind when reading this information.

Regular attendees: miss less than 10 days a year (less than 5% absence)
Risk of chronic absence: miss between 10 and 19 days a year (5-10% absence)
Chronically absent: miss 20+ days (10%+ absence; average 1 day per fortnight)

The graph and table below indicate the following:

The percentage of TPPS students that had 20 or more absent days in 2024.
Our absent day breakdown for the last 5 years.
Our average absence breakdown over the last 5 years.
Our current attendance data for 2025.

The key takeaway from this information is that:

6% of our students (34 students) have not missed a day of school in 2025.
64% of our students (359 students) have missed only 0.5 – 9.5 days thus far in 2025.
23% of our students (126 students) have missed between 10 – 19.5 days thus far in 2025.
4% of our students (25 students) have missed between 20 – 29.5 days thus far in 2025.
2% of our students (11 students) have missed more than 30+ days thus far in 2025.

Excellent News!

As stated above, 34 students at TPPS have not missed a day of school this year and 359 have only missed between 0.5 - 9.5 days thus far in 2025. This is fantastic news! We would like to congratulate these students and families.

These students are giving themselves the best opportunity to achieve their personal best academically and are maintaining excellent social relationships.

Reminder! Extended Family Holidays - Approval Required

Within the Victorian Attendance Legislation, families are required to discuss with the Principal well in advance of finalising any holiday plans. The Principal has the discretion to decide whether or not to approve the absence taking into account the student’s educational interests.

This means that parents must notify Mark Roberts of upcoming holiday plans if they occur during the school term. Approval will be decided upon educational factors, and attendance during the current and past school years.

Thank you in advance for your support in this most important area. We look forward to sharing our improvements in this space in the coming months and year.

Top Tips for Families for Student Attendance

Remember that every day counts!
Schools want to work in partnership with you – act early if you have any attendance concerns by asking for advice and support.
Talk positively about school and the importance of attending every day.
Avoid making routine medical and dental appointments during the school day or planning family holidays during the term.
Build a good home routine to get ready for school.
Inform the school of any extended absences your child is having.

Term 2 School Arrival Update

In Term 2, 2025 Templestowe Park had in excess of 634 students arrive late to school without an approved reason. This is up from 520 in Term 1.

Approved reasons can be a medical appointment, medical illness, religious/cultural reason or a secondary school tour. Approved reasons are not counted towards our late arrival data.

Common Parent Choice/Unapproved reasons we receive for late arrival include:

Slept in/late night
Mum or Dad slept in
Traffic
Dropping off their sibling first
Not organised and ready for school in the morning.

Over 634 absences amounts to nearly 12 students per day. Unfortunately, these students have missed critical teaching time in the highly important morning session. Many of our students are very upset or embarrassed when they arrive late. We often have to give them a pep talk and some kind words before they move to the classroom.

Arriving to School on Time - Morning Routines

One of the main reasons for students not arriving to school on time is the business of the home in the morning. Setting up a good routine helps children arrive at school ready to learn and play.

Please click here to receive tips about setting up morning routines.