Attendance News

Everyday Counts

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our first Attendance Newsletter for 2025. We will be publishing 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%.

Some of the data presented in this newsletter may be shocking for many families. It is not our aim to cause alarm, but 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 1 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:

22% of our students (123 students) have not missed a day of school in 2025.
27% of our students (163 students) in 2024 missed only 0.5 – 9.5 days in 2024.
18% of our students (112 students) missed between 20 – 29.5 days in 2024.
18% of our students (109 students) missed 30+ days of school in 2024.

In 2024, 112 TPPS students missed at least 4 weeks of school and 109 missed at the very least 6 weeks of school.

This level of absenteeism is clearly going to have a profound effect on the academic and wellbeing outcomes for these students. Non-attendance at school has a variety of impacts on students, both academically and socially. Absenteeism can increase social isolation, including alienation and lack of engagement with the school community and peers, leading to emotional and behavioural difficulties. Unfortunately, we have clear data that indicates students that are chronically absent are performing poorly in the classroom.

The Good News!

As stated above, 123 students at TPPS have not missed a day of school this year and 163 only missed between 0.5 - 9.5 days in 2024. This means that these students are attending school over 98% of the time. 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.

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 1 School Arrival Update

In Term 1, 2025 Templestowe Park had in excess of 520 students arrive late to school without an approved reason.

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 520 absences amounts to nearly 13 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. Homes can be very busy in the morning, with three kids of my own and a busy sporting schedule for two of my children before school, I know how difficult it can be. The article below can assist parents in preparing a morning routine to make getting to school on time easier. They are great tips and I highly recommend them.

It is our aim to reduce the number of Unapproved late arrivals in Term 2. As some of you know, we consistently reach out to families to assist them in getting their child/dren to school on time. If anyone needs assistance, please contact your child's classroom teacher or one of the Principal team.

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.

Everyone has a role to play in Student Attendance

At Templestowe Park PS it is recognised that the school, teachers, parents, administration staff and students have a role in ensuring maximum student attendance and have the following responsibilities:

School

Develop policies and procedures to support student attendance.
Maintain attendance records.
Ensure attendance data forms part of each child’s report.
Communicate clearly to parents attendance expectations.

Administration Staff

Monitor school attendance each day and and upload attendance data to Department software.
Ensure attendance and absence codes are accurately recorded, using correct absence coding.
Notify the school Principal if there are unusual absences.
Print late arrival data for the school leadership team for further follow up.

Teachers

Mark the attendance roll by 9.00am and 1.00pm each day.
Promote the importance of attendance in their grade.
Closely monitor student attendance in their grade.
Follow up with parents (e.g. phone call) on students who have been absent for more than 3 consecutive days.
Report to the Principal team concerns about a student’s high absenteeism.
Actively acknowledge and welcome back students who have been absent.

Families

Ensure your child attends school at all times.
Request permission from the Principal prior to taking extended family holidays during the school term.
Provide a Compass notification, detailing the reason/s for their child’s absence.
Inform the school ahead of time of planned absences.
Outline the benefits of going to school with their child.
Inform the school immediately of any attendance issues.
Work with the school to rectify any attendance issues.

Students

Attend school every day.
Inform their teacher/parents of any issues which may compromise their attendance at school.

If any family needs help with getting their child to school please reach out for assistance. We are always here to help.

Kind regards,

Mark Roberts

Principal