> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Development

> Set up observations, two-year checks and progress reports — the learning journal and the summaries built from it.

The **Development** area is where your team records children's learning and shares it with families. It has three parts, each switched on or off from the **Features** card on [Site Profile](/docs/onboarding/site-profile) and configured on its own tab of **Settings → Development**:

* **Observations** — the day-to-day learning journal: photos, videos and short stories about single moments.
* **Two-year checks** — the EYFS progress check at age two, tracked from 23 months and signed by parents online.
* **Progress reports** — narrative summaries that draw a stretch of a child's journal together.

All three use the same approval workflow, the same roles and the same AI writing support, each with its own writing rules.

<Info>
  Open in app: [Settings → Development](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/app/admin/settings/development), with a tab each for **Observations**, **Progress reports** and **Two-year checks**.
</Info>

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Observations" icon="camera" href="/docs/managers/development/observations">
    The approval workflow, sharing drafts, learning frameworks, AI writing rules, digest emails and journal exports.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Two-year checks" icon="clipboard-check" href="/docs/managers/development/two-year-checks">
    Switching checks on, level wording, who's due, approval and parent signatures, and checks done elsewhere.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Progress reports" icon="file-lines" href="/docs/managers/development/progress-reports">
    Reporting periods, drafting from observations, approval and report writing rules.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Info>
  Writing these day to day? The [staff guide to Development](/docs/staff/development) walks through capturing an observation, completing a two-year check and writing a progress report step by step.
</Info>

## The approval workflow at a glance

| Status | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Draft** | Being written. Private to its author unless you share drafts with staff. |
| **Pending approval** | Submitted and waiting for a publisher or manager to review it. |
| **Changes requested** | Sent back to the author with a comment explaining what needs changing. |
| **Published** | Shared with the family. |

Regular staff **Submit for approval**; staff with the **Publisher** role and managers **Publish** directly. See [Observations → The approval workflow](/docs/managers/development/observations#the-approval-workflow) for who can see and edit what.

## Related

* [Home Moments and Comments](/docs/managers/home-moments) — photos families share from home, and comment threads on observations.
* [Child Permissions](/docs/managers/child-permissions) — media permissions that trigger a reminder when staff tag a child.
* [AI Features](/docs/managers/ai-features) — every AI feature in Pigeonhole and how to switch each one off.


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