Just over half of under-three-year-olds attend childcare

Just over half of children under three attend early childhood education (ECEC), with the rate rising from 20.2% in 2013 to 51% in 2023, according to a report by Eurydice, the European Commission’s network on education systems and policies.

This increase is largely due to the introduction of free childcare services for under-three-year-olds whose parents are both in active employment or pursuing education and training. By 2017, the participation rate in ECEC in Malta had already risen to 36.6%.

Malta is now one of ten EU member states that have surpassed the revised Barcelona target of 45% for under-three-year-old children attending childcare.

Denmark and the Netherlands stand out with the highest participation rates of children under three in ECEC, reaching 70% or more in 2023.

Rates range between 50% and 60% in Belgium, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, and Norway. In contrast, fewer than 5% of young children attend ECEC in Czechia and Slovakia. Participation rates are also very low (between 10% and 20%) in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

Over the last decade, the average participation rate in ECEC for children under three in the EU-27 has significantly improved, rising from 27.0% to 37.5%. Among countries with reliable data, the largest increases in ECEC attendance since 2013 have been observed in Malta and the Netherlands.

Despite the increase in the number of children in childcare, statistics show that Malta still spends the same percentage of its GDP on early childhood education as it did in 2014 (0.4% of GDP), reflecting economic growth over the past decade. Malta spends an average of €6,450 per child per year on early childhood education, which is nearly equivalent to the state’s spending on primary education children.

The report showed that children under three in Malta spend an average of 28.9 hours per week in childcare compared to the EU average of 30.6 hours, while those aged between three and five spend 30.9 hours compared to the EU average of 30.6 hours.

Attendance of kindergarten on the decline

Kindergarten attendance has declined in recent years, with the percentage of children aged three to five attending dropping from 99.4% in 2013 to 87.5% in 2023. This contrasts with the significant increase in the number of under-three-year-olds attending early childhood education, which has risen sharply over the past decade.

In Malta, all children up to age three can attend childcare centres, with most of these centres being privately run. Out of 192 childcare centres, 187 participate in the free childcare scheme, which provides care for children from as young as three months, as long as their parents or guardians are employed or in education.

Kindergartens, which are free for children in state and church-run institutions, accept children from two years and nine months until they begin compulsory primary education at age five. In 2020, 18% of pre-primary children were enrolled in independent private kindergartens.

Maltese children the first to start primary school

The report also revealed that while the starting age of compulsory primary education is generally around age six in Europe, children in Malta are the earliest starters, being required to begin compulsory primary education at five years old.

In contrast, primary education starts at the age of seven in Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, and Sweden. The official starting age for compulsory primary education is usually set at 6 years in Europe.

Malta fails in promoting nature appreciation

The report also highlighted a gap in Maltese childcare: the lack of educational programmes aimed at fostering an appreciation of nature, a shortcoming also seen in Italy and parts of Belgium.

In most countries, guidelines for ECEC encourage interaction with nature so that children develop an emotional relationship (joy, love, wonder) with it and feel the desire to protect it. For instance, in Austria, the guidelines encourage “experimentation and observation of animate and inanimate nature,” which is considered of great importance for children’s development as it supports the cultivation of a caring and mindful attitude towards the environment.

In Denmark, “nature, outdoor life, and phenomena” is one of the six curriculum themes covered by pedagogical programmes. This theme aims to “enable all children to experience human connectedness with nature and provide them with an early-stage understanding of the importance of sustainable development.”

In the German-speaking part of Belgium, recommended activities for children include “sponsoring a tree, establishing and maintaining a school garden, planting a flower meadow for insect food, and taking care of a bird feeder in winter.”

The report also showed that Malta is one of seven European countries where the minimum qualification level required to work as a core practitioner in ECEC is below the bachelor’s level. In Malta, an education diploma and successfully completing a one-year probationary period are required to work as a kindergarten or childcare educator.