Templestowe Valley Primary School 15 Birchwood Avenue, Templestowe Lower, Victoria 3107

"My daughter transitioned to tvps from an autism specific specialist school way behind her peers in every imaginable aspect. Over the 2 years she was there, she has almost caught up with her peers in speech, in academics, in cognitive ability as well as in social skills. I have nothing but gratitude for the teachers and staff that facilitated this miracle. My daughter adores the school and now wants to become a teacher, that's how much the school has positively impacted her."

"At TVPS, children are expected to be seen and not heard. Its very much a "one size fits all" system, and if you don't fit within the mould of a well-behaved neurotypical student, you are in the wrong. Granted, its been several years since I came which is plenty of time for people to change, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Many of the teachers were cold, condescending and pompous. My music teacher picked favourite students and would DEMAND that we answer to him by saying “Yes, Mr W**” and shout at us for “not remembering our manners”. My Italian teacher and integration aid once said to me “When you’re told to do something, you don’t ask questions; you just do.” My Grade 6 teacher would scold us for "not listening" if we asked for help with our schoolwork. My Grade 4 teacher would routinely humiliate students in front of the class, announcing what they did wrong to everyone, and would pick on individual students out of spite. He once scolded one of my classmates for sneezing during a lecture and got mad at another kid for making an upside-down Australian flag. His exact words to 12-year-old me when I spoke out of line once were "I am sick and tired of your negative attitude towards everything." (Imagine: a sensitive student whose profile notes that he's "too hard on himself" makes a mistake. This teacher's response? "You did something wrong, get over it! No use crying because you've only got yourself to blame!") And some practices at the school were rather odd. For instance, on Monday morning assemblies, we were all forced to recite out loud a pledge which ended with the words “I am proud of Templestowe Valley” and “I agree to obey and respect all rules and regulations”. Call this a hunch, but I don't think that's normal. On one school camp, there were routine “cabin inspections” where we all had to make our cabin look PERFECT as if we were setting up a 5-star hotel room, and a teacher would poke around every corner of the cabin and punish us for certain criteria not met (we had to have all our shoes LINED UP OUTSIDE THE CABIN WITH THE LACES UNTIED). However, we were allowed to bribe teachers with lollies for free points, which indicates to me that this was all a game to them and they were just throwing their weight around. I asked my teachers why we did this; one dodged the question entirely by asking "Do you want to earn points?" and another retorted “Are you going to argue?” My best friend and I ended up going home from that camp early, and said friend absolutely LOVES camps and outdoor activities, so for him to have willingly left was quite out-of-character. This sort of authoritarian school system may pass for the average thick-skinned neurotypical kid who doesn’t mind overbearing teachers and bullying among peers (as a family friend of mine who attended this school can attest to), but for students on the autism spectrum or kids with special needs, it’ll be a rough ride. The quality of the learning material was passable, but the culture fostered by several of the teachers there was questionable at best and toxic and worst, with only a minority being genuinely kind and supportive. Some teachers did make a token attempt at catering to students with special needs but it didn't amount to much and their lack of empathy was still apparent in the way they treated us. If your child has special needs or needs some extra support, do not send them here. (A shout-out to my kind grade 5 teacher and integration aid Miss Rossi and Wendy for being so kind and supportive in spite of everything, and who were no doubt the best teachers I had there! Not that there was much competition. They were among the only teachers whom I did trust.)"

"I BEG OF YOU, for the sake of you and your children (or yourself) DO NOT send your children here UNLESS you want your child to be bullied by manipulative children. who knew kids could be as$h*les thanks never go here "

"The principal and teachers are kind and caring. Having just moved at the start of term, adjusting was not going to be an easy. But the teachers and students were lovely and my child found it easy to make friends and be a part of the school. I don't understand where these negative comments are coming from and it's unfair to the school as they can't respond appropriately. The surrounding area is safe and a wonderful neighbourhood. Come see for yourself in a school tour."

"I’m only giving this school 2 stars because of the great teaching staff and caring OSHC staff. Otherwise I would avoid this school at all costs as the principal has no care or time in the world for the students there! My daughter was there till 2019 and we have given this new principal the benefit of the doubt. We have since moved on from this school and my kids are loving their new school! Since we have left I keep hearing stories of how horrible the new principal is! The enrolment levels for foundation are really low next year due to one person! As principal wouldn’t you want your school to thrive?!"