Child care in and close to Valletta

Good evening, has no one an idea? I really need info desperately as I only have one adres in Hamrun so far. Is it true, there is no child care/nursery in Valletta?
Thanks a million, Kat

Hi. I have not heard of one in valletta. The closest I know is in Santa venra in fleur de li. Sorry not sure how to spell it!

Hi, I know one in Msida Marina, I think it is called Kaell, also there are couple of them in Gzira, if you are going to work in that direction.
Also you have to take into consideration the opening hours if you are planning to have a full time employment
You can find a list of daycare centers here

http://www.kidsmalta.com/lists/view/daycentres.aspx

but it seems that there is not one in Valletta, the closest is in Floriana.

Hello, thanks dear people for your replies. Seems like that there is no child care in Valletta, which would be ideal for me. I am not familiar with the geography of the island but from google maps it looks like the closest area next to Valletta is Hamrun, right? I am aware of the list of institutions which someone posted above but the problem with that one is that I have already emailed almost all of them and some are too far away. Still I havenŽt found a child care close by - only the one in Hamrun, Mickeys Educare. I would be working and living in Valletta. Is this somewhat not typical for parents/children? I am so curious to see the place and to see everything is connected (or not)...
Do people use bicycles in Malta?

Hi,

try to phone them, most of my emails went unanswered when I was looking for daycare or courses for my children.
The closest could be Floriana, if the list is current. Hamrun is quite close as well, but you would have to cross very busy roads.  I would not recommend cycling in Malta, especially with a child. As a friend of mine, who tried it, says the Maltese drivers have no eyes for cyclists. She had couple of scary close misses before she gave up taking her daughter to school by bicycle (and she lives in the rural part of Malta)


Also you could call the ministry of education and ask if the have a  state-run daycare in or close Valletta (the new government promised them and I know that one wing of the Gzira primary school is being turned into a daycare center right now, I have know idea about the opening date or age limit, but the builders are already doing the final touches), so maybe it is happening closer to you as well.

Before we moved to Malta I wanted to live in Valletta, but I was quickly discouraged by the estate agents and our new Maltese acquaintances. Everyone was saying that Valletta is a very touristy place with just couple of thousands permanent residents and it is not really a place for a family with small children.

Hello again, thank you for your insights!
I would be offered an apartment close to office thatŽs why I consider Valletta as a base for me and my child in the first place.
My experience with emailing child care institutions was totally different I must say. All of my emails I sent were answered - it was just amazing!! Unfortunately the general outcome was that there isnŽt any child care ceneter in Valletta.
One of my last hopes was/is this forum to find out and get ideas.

I live in Amsterdam since more than 6 years and so I am very familiar with tourist business in front of your doorstep. I donŽt mind so much unless itŽs like you canŽt buy things in supermarket without waiting an hour in the cue. Generally I like a certain cosmopolitan feel and way of life, old buildings and history so I am open for Valletta.
If I am going to decide to live on Malta I am sure I will try and use my bike. Is it very hilly in Valletta?

I canŽt stand driving cars anymore and cycling is ecological and free. But I will be careful and wear some bright orange coat if I have to stand out of the crowd ;-)
Have a nice afternoon, Kat

And thank you Pevi about your hint Gzira primary school, I will follow this up now!

Hi,

I totally understand your concern about cars. We do not own a car here and never had one before we moved either.
Yes, Valletta is hilly and some streets have steps instead of flat surface, but that is going to be your smallest problem concerning cycling.
Valletta is small and big part of it closed for cars or only residents can enter and the streets are narrow and crowded. I do not think you would need even a bicycle as you can cross it on foot  in less than half an hour. The problem starts when you want to leave Valletta.

Hi, may I ask what do you mean when saying problem starts when you want to leave Valletta? Traffic jams?

Hi Kat,

I'm not aware of a single supermarket that deserves the name in Valletta. It will be the small corner shops.

Don't compare Valletta in any way to Amsterdam. Valletta only has about 5000 inhabitants and is certainly hilly, especially if you live down the lower end towards St. Elmo. But I don't think Valletta is the best place to consider living even if it is close to your office. It is lively at day and dead at night !

Leaving Valletta by bus is quite easy and gets you to most areas as the central bus station is in Valletta.

Don't make any decision until you have arrived and can compare various areas.

Cheers
Ricky

Ricky, thanks for your post. Right, I have to go and see it myself. I am looking at pictures of Valletta and see that it has steep roads like SanFrancisco almost. Too bad for cycling. The downside of a "company apartment" is that you cannot really chose where it is, right.
But when you say Valletta is "dead at night" - you know I donŽt really mind that. I have a small child and therefore I wonŽt go out late anyway. I just want to have my piece and quiet, I think. I like sketching and photography so I think IŽll be inspired.
But in general, yes I know very well Amsterdam is glorious and most open, so diverse and beautiful - I donŽt think Valletta can be better in terms of atmosphere. But unfortunately some things in my life drag me towards making a change and if itŽs going to be on a dense and rocky island IŽll give it my best shot.

We have friends who live in Valletta and assure us its not "dead"
at night. There are loads of small bars / restaurants with live music plus cinemas and theatre.
They used to live in Mellieha and say Valletta is much livelier.

I just stumbled across this one

It-Tgħanniqa Smartkids
Floriana Triq Sarria
Floriana FRN 1461 

Floriana is very close to Valletta, if I understood correctly. I will call them Monday straight away.
If anyone has made experiences/more infos on the topic IŽd be grateful to hear.

Thank you!
Kat

Good afternoon

I'm childcare , I have an experience of 4 years , and I have a little girl who has 2 years old. You can contact me and we can meet us in november .

See you soon

Maëva

Schwester_Kat wrote:

I just stumbled across this one

It-Tgħanniqa Smartkids
Floriana Triq Sarria
Floriana FRN 1461 

Floriana is very close to Valletta, if I understood correctly. I will call them Monday straight away.
If anyone has made experiences/more infos on the topic IŽd be grateful to hear.

Thank you!
Kat

Hi Kat

Smart kids is government run and hours usually available from 7 to 4. There is usually a huge waiting list, as in over a year. Saying this, my experience is with Qawra, maybe Florida is not so bad.

Caroline

Floriana not Florida. Stupid phone!

Caroline, thank you for your reply. Yes, I heard that there is indeed a waiting list. However I have been able to make an appointment to view the center and speak to the people within my couple of days on Malta in two weeks. I need to see what they can mean to us in the specific situation.
Is your child attending smart kids? Are you happy with that?
Greetings,
kat