Who we are
The Guidance and Counselling Service within the Department of Student Services and International Relations of the Education Division promotes the holistic development of pupils and students by providing personal, curricular and career guidance and counselling.
This charter
This charter outlines your rights and responsibilities, the services we provide and the standards of service we aim to achieve and which you can expect from us. It also tells you what to do if you wish to see any improvement in our service. Through this charter we are committing ourselves to providing you with a quality service.
How to contact us
You can contact us by:
visiting us or writing to the:
Guidance and Counselling Service
1, St Publius Street,
Floriana VLT 16
phoning on: 21237906
sending a fax on:21246212
sending an email on:
accessing our website on:
When you visit our office we will:
be prompt to attend to you
be courteous and helpful at all times
welcome you in a clean and friendly environment.
When you write to us you can expect us to:
send a reply within ten working days.
When you phone us you can expect us to:
answer politely
identify ourselves.
When you send us an email, you can expect us to:
send an immediate acknowledgement
send a reply to your correspondence within six working days.
When you phone for your appointment, you can expect us to:
give you an appointment within six working days according to the nature of the case. Since counsellors may be on duty elsewhere it is advisable to phone for an appointment before calling at the Unit.
In providing information we will:
give you the most accurate, up-to-date information available to us, at that point in time
refer you to other agencies or organizations that can give you further assistance.
Opening hours
Counselling services are offered during school days, from the end of September till the beginning of July.
We are open from Monday to Friday between:
8.30 a.m. – 2.30 p.m.
For information on the exact dates and times of the service please phone on 21 237906.
Information protected
Personal information provided is protected and used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2001.
Personal consideration and respect
You can expect all staff who deal with you to treat you in the best possible manner. They will attend to your needs with courtesy and respect your privacy, dignity, culture, religious beliefs and lifestyle. All information provided is kept strictly confidential.
Our services and standards
The Guidance and Counselling Unit render a service in schools and from its premises in Floriana during the school year ONLY. One counsellor is available at the Guidance and Counselling Service in Floriana every day during the school year to give this service.
The main areas of work include:
counselling service
curricular guidance
career guidance including career seminars programme
parenting skills programme
service at primary sector
designing of career rooms
Counselling service
This service is given at the Guidance and Counselling Unit and in schools. Students themselves usually ask for counselling. Sometimes parents are also invited to attend counselling sessions. Counselling services range from crises intervention to personal, vocational or curricular counselling. It is advisable for clients to phone for an appointment when they need counselling services.
You can expect us to:
provide an on-going service throughout the school year.
Curricular Guidance
We provide curricular guidance which helps to facilitate the transition of students from primary to secondary school and from secondary to post-secondary institutions and/or work. Talks are held for parents and students during the scholastic year. We also provide guidance regarding subject options and choice of courses, at different levels.
You can expect us to:
provide an on-going service throughout the school year.
Career Guidance including Career Seminars Programme
The Guidance and Counselling Service provides information through various activities which consists of career seminars and career orientation visits/talks. Guidance Teachers in schools also organise talks and visits.
Career Seminars are specifically organised for students in Form 4 and 5. The seminar is a full day programme based on getting to know oneself and the various opportunities for career/vocational choices.
You can expect us to:
provide an on-going service throughout the school year
upgrade and revise the programme according to the needs of students.
Parenting skills programmes
We also provide parenting skills programmes which consist of a weekly two hour session for six weeks. These are delivered by specialists in the field upon request from Heads of School, Local Councils and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
These programmes are held at different venues as necessary.
You can expect us to:
provide parenting skills programmes throughout the school year
deal with topics such as self-esteem, decision making, communication, relationships, drug abuse, assertiveness, health and sexuality.
Service in the Primary Sector
Counselling support for children and their parents is provided in a small number of Primary Schools. A similar service is also provided from the Guidance and Counselling Unit preferably by appointment.
A child must be referred for counselling by the Head of School after obtaining parental consent or by the parents themselves.
You can expect us to:
provide an on-going service throughout the school year
provide services that range from crises intervention to personal and curricular counselling.
Designing of Career rooms
This area of work deals with designing, setting up and upgrading information boards and leaflets for career rooms in schools and at the Guidance and Counselling Service. This work is carried out by a graphic designer.
You can expect us to:
keep all information updated.
How you can help us
You can help us deliver a better quality in service by:
being courteous and co-operative with all our staff
providing us with accurate and up-to-date information when filling forms
providing us with all the relevant information or documents when they are requested
explaining clearly and briefly the nature of your query
giving us the correct name and surname, address and telephone number of the person being referred and the person making the referral
presenting the appropriate Identity Card.
How we monitor our performance
We want to meet the standards set out in this charter in order to provide you wish a quality service. Assessing how well we perform against these standards is an important element for your satisfaction. We will assess and improve our standards by:
talking to you
giving importance to the queries and complaints we receive from you.
Thus, we will monitor our standards and find ways of improving them.
If you are not satisfied with our service
Your complete satisfaction is essential to us. We look into all complaints as they help us improve our service. If you think that we have failed to maintain our service delivery standards you can lodge a complaint. You may write to the following address:
The Director
Department for Student Services and International Relations
Great Siege Road
Floriana CMR 02
We promise to acknowledge all letters of complaint and send a reply within five working days.
Learning from you!
We continuously strive to provide a service that meets your needs and we welcome any comments and suggestions for service improvement. Kindly give us your comments and suggestions by filling in the Feedback form on the backcover of this booklet and dropping it in our suggestion box. You can also send it by post to the address printed on the Feedback form itself.
You can also lodge a complaint, make a suggestion or ask a question by accessing the Customer Care System at
All information is correct at time of going to print. More information is available on the Charter Support Unit website and the Guidance and Counselling Service website at:
January 2005
Published by the Charter Support Unit, OPM
Printed at the Government Press