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MALTATODAY 26 January 2025

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4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt ANNOUNCEMENT OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER The European Social Fund+ 2021-2027 Following the Pre-Announcement of Calls for project proposals issued on 24 th November 2024, the Ministry responsible for European Funds would like to announce that a session to gather feedback is being organised for Non-Governmental Organisations, Voluntary Organisations and Social partners who are interested in submitting project proposals under the Priority and Specific Objectives (ESO) listed below. Priority 2: Fostering Active Inclusion for All Specific Objective: 4.8. Active inclusion and employability. Specific Objective: 4.11. Equal access to quality social and healthcare services. During this session, Prospective Applicants interested in proposing a project under these Specific Objectives are encouraged to provide feedback to the Managing Authority. This session will be held on Thursday, 13 th February 2025 from 17:00 to 19:00 at the offices of the Oaks Business Centre, Block B, Farsons Street, Hamrun. Registration for this session can be done by scanning the below QR code. Prospective Applicants are encouraged to refer to the ESF+ Programme available on https://fondi.eu/programme/european-social-fund-plus/. The launch of these calls, together with the Application Form and supplementary documentation, will be published later on this year. Just over half of under-three-year-olds JUST over half of children un- der 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 Com- mission's network on education systems and policies. This increase is largely due to the introduction of free child- care 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 sur- passed the revised Barcelona tar- get of 45% for under-three-year- old children attending childcare. Denmark and the Netherlands stand out with the highest par- ticipation rates of children un- der 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. Participa- tion rates are also very low (be- tween 10% and 20%) in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. Over the last decade, the aver- age participation rate in ECEC for children under three in the EU-27 has significantly im- proved, rising from 27.0% to 37.5%. Among countries with re- liable 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 ed- ucation 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 ear- ly childhood education, which is nearly equivalent to the state's spending on primary education children. The report showed that chil- dren 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 com- pared 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 num- ber of under-three-year-olds attending early childhood edu- cation, which has risen sharply over the past decade. In Malta, all children up to Just over half of children under three now attend early childhood education, up from 20.2% in 2013. This increase is largely due to the introduction of free childcare for children of working or studying parents. However, Malta faces challenges, including declining kindergarten attendance and gaps in promoting nature appreciation in early education.

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