Moving to Malta with 3 1/2 year old twins

Hi everyone! We will be moving to Malta from Cyprus within the next couple of months with our twin girls (3 1/2 years of age). We have been following the conversations on the topic of private kindergartens in the forum and based on what we read we decided to look for a house in the area of Sliema/Gzira. Has anyone had any experience with Happy Days Child Care Centre? We are looking for a school which also provides afternoon childcare and the only two we found, is the Happy Days Child Care Centre and Giggles Nursery and Day Care. Do you also know whether they accept children above the age of three (I got the impression that Giggles accepts children up to three years of age).

Thank you very much!
Natasa

Not sure if any help but we came across last year with our son who was also 3 œ and chose Sliema.  We were highly recommended Nikkis  Nursery in Sliema by a Maltese friend although we never looked into this option but were assured it was a good choice – instead we opted for Kindergarten at Chiswick House in San Gwann and can highly recommend, and although for EY1 (3-4 year olds) the day finishes at 12:45/13:00 there are plenty of after hour options and extracurricular activities.

Thank you so much! This is very helpful  :)

Hi,

we live in Gzira and looked at both daycare centres you mentioned before opting for Gzira Primary School kindergarten (my son was 4 and half at that time). They do accept older children, but most of them will go only for afternoon activities as they are in either private or state kindergarten in the mornings. Happy Days is actually in front of Gzira primary's entrance. If you want to opt for private schooling, in my opinion, private school kindergartens are better options for over 3 years olds. They finish around 13-14, but normally children can stay longer for extra fee and they do not have to change school in a year time, but continue to primary with their class. Newark School is between Gzira and Sliema.
We decided to send our son to the state kindergarten as the none of the daycares we looked at justified the extra expense (actually the classrooms where more crowded in private daycare and not at all better equipped). As for the afternoon care I share it with other mothers, as I am still at home, most of the time I am the one who looks after other children, but in exchange I can have free afternoons or weekends when I need it:))

Thank you. We are looking towards private kindergartens but I guess we will examine all options as soon as we arrive to Malta xxx

We will be in Malta by June 2013 and my almost 3 year old son is currently in Kindergarten full day.

What schools would you recommend? What are the costs?

Ideally we would like a "Montessori" type education where the little ones are encouraged to develop their own special skills at their own pace.

Many thanks! We look forward to meeting other parents and children :-)

Hi,

Nandreou, I saw on your profile that you moved to Malta :) Congratulations!
Have you managed to enroll to child care? Any feedback? I also contacted the Happy Child Care and I've been told about the 5 months waiting list :(((

Thank you,
Ade

Hi Ade! We are happily adjusting to the new life in Malta. We have chosen St Cecilia's kindergarten (there is one in Attard and one in Tarxien) and I know that there is also availability at St Catherine's in Pembroke and Newark in Sliema. I also loved St Catherine's in Pembroke but we chose St Cecilia's because it was smaller and it looked 'less scary' for the girls. Actually the girls chose which school they preferred and we are very very happy with the school so far.

One note for Newark: it was third in my list of choices but it offers day care in the afternoons also, so that would be helpful for someone who works until late in the afternoon.

Hope this helps :)

Thank you so much for your feedback. I appreciate it a lot and it helps, indeed :)

This means that the waiting list is not such a scary thing... pfiuu :D

Hi All,  Please note that Newark Junior School and Newark Kindergarden are owned by 2 very different people. But use the same building..... One is caring mother of 3 and will go to the ends of the earth for you... The other who owns the Junior School is a business woman and has no interest in kids... Believe me I found it out the hard way...