Attendance News

Everyday Counts

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our Term 3 Attendance Newsletter. 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 3 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:

3% of our students (16 students) have not missed a day of school in 2025.
43% of our students (244 students) have missed only 0.5 – 9.5 days thus far in 2025.
35% of our students (199 students) have missed between 10 – 19.5 days thus far in 2025.
12% of our students (70 students) have missed between 20 – 29.5 days thus far in 2025. These students are considered 'chronically absent'. If this continues, this child will miss at least one year of schooling if they continue to Year 12.
6% of our students (35 students) have missed more than 30+ days thus far in 2025. These students are 'chronically absent' and in danger of completely disengaging from school. If this continues, this child will miss at least two years of schooling if they continue to Year 12.

We need your help - We can do it!

Our 2025 goal is to reduce the percentage of students that miss 20 or more days of school from 36% to 22%. We currently are sitting at 18% for the school year. I am writing this message to say, we can do this! Term 4 is going to be a super term of learning. The teachers and curriculum design teams have been working so hard over the past three weeks to design units of work for Term 4 that are powerful, engaging and challenging. Our specialist teachers have designed amazing lessons and are so excited to teach them. Our Prep, Grade 1, 3 and 4 students will be attending their camps, numerous sporting events are taking place and our Grade 6 students are preparing for their final term at primary school. There is so much to look forward to!

Regular attendance is a team effort. We need you. I ask all parents to get their children to school every day possible. If your child is fit and well, please ensure that they are at school. There is just too much to look forward to in Term 4 and we want to share this with your children.

We have 16 students that have not missed a day of school in 2025. I would love to see hundreds of students not miss a day in Term 4!

Thank you in advance. I know we can achieve our goal and give our students the very best chance for success.

Attendance Legends!

As stated above, 16 students at TPPS have not missed a day of school this year and 244 have only missed between 0.5 - 9.5 days thus far in 2025. This is sensational! We would like to congratulate these students and families.

Below is a photo of the students that have had 100% attendance this year. Great work, legends!

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 3 School Arrival Update

In Term 3, 2025 Templestowe Park had in excess of 561 students arrive late to school without an approved reason. This is down from 634 in Term 2.

We are very happy to see an improvement in with the number of students arriving to school on time. We hope to see this improve further in Term 4.

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.

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.