> ## 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.
# Two-Year Checks
> See which of your key children are due their progress check at age two, write and sign the check, and share it with their family.
Every child must have a **progress check** between their second and third birthdays: a short summary for their family of how they're doing in the three prime areas — personal, social and emotional development; communication and language; and physical development. If you're a child's key person, you'll usually write it.
Open in app: [Development → Two-year checks](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/app/staff/development/two-year-checks). If it's not in your sidebar, your setting hasn't switched two-year checks on.
## Step 1: Find who's due
Go to **Development → Two-year checks**. The page opens on **My key children** with the **Needs a check** filter, so you see your own children who still need one first.
Each row shows the child's age, when their window closes and who their key person is. The coloured chip tells you where they are:
| Chip | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Coming up** | 23 months — a heads-up that the check is due soon. |
| **Due** | 24 months or older. |
| **30+ months** | Over half the window has gone. |
| **Overdue** | 36 months with no check shared. |
| **In progress** | Someone has started a check, shown as Draft, Awaiting approval or Changes requested. |
| **Done** / **Done elsewhere** | The check has been shared with the family, or recorded as done on paper or by another setting. |
Switch to **All children** to see every child in the window, or use the **Overdue**, **In progress**, **Coming up** and **Done** filters. A banner on a child's profile also tells you when their check is due.
Only a child's **key person** or a **manager** can start their check. If you see **Key person to start**, the check belongs to someone else. If a child has no key person, ask your manager.
### If the check was already done
If the check was done on paper before your setting used Pigeonhole for it, or by another setting the child also attends, click **Already done** instead of starting a new one.
1. Choose **Done here, on paper** or **Done at another setting**.
2. Enter the **Date the check was completed**.
3. For another setting, add **Which setting?** if you know it.
4. Click **Choose files** to upload the completed form as a PDF, or as a photo of each page. This is required for a paper check done here, and optional for another setting's check.
5. Click **Save**.
The child shows as **Done** (or **Done elsewhere**). The family can see the record, and nobody is emailed.
## Step 2: Start the check
Click **Start check** next to the child. The check opens straight away as a draft.
* **Date of check** is when you did the check. The child's age in months is worked out from it.
* **Observations to draw on** is the stretch of the child's journal the check uses. It sets which observations you can choose as evidence, and which ones the AI drafts from. The note underneath tells you how many published observations it covers.
If you change the dates, click **Save** before you draft. Drafting uses the dates the check was last saved with.
## Step 3: Draft from observations
If your setting uses AI drafting, click **Draft from observations**. Within a few seconds it fills in:
* a comment on each prime area
* the summary boxes further down
* a **suggested level** for each of the seven aspects, with the reason
* a suggested set of observations to use as evidence
Nothing is saved until you click **Save**, and nothing is decided for you — you accept or change each suggestion yourself. Where there isn't enough evidence for an aspect, the draft says so rather than guessing.
## Step 4: Choose a level for each aspect
Under **The prime areas** there's a card for each area, with its aspects underneath:
* **Personal, Social and Emotional Development** — self-regulation, managing self and building relationships
* **Communication and Language** — listening, attention and understanding, and speaking
* **Physical Development** — gross motor and fine motor
For each aspect, either click **Accept** to take the suggested level, or click the level you think is right. The chosen level is highlighted with a tick.
* The box at the top of each card is a comment on the whole area. Families see it in the grid.
* Click **Add comment** under an aspect to say something about that aspect on its own.
* The level names are set by your setting — for example *Emerging* and *Expected*, or *Not yet* and *On track*.
* If your setting includes the characteristics of effective learning, a **How I learn** card asks for optional comments on *playing and exploring*, *active learning* and *creating and thinking critically*.
## Step 5: Write the summary
Below the grid are the summary boxes. Every box is plain text — press Enter for a new line.
* **Areas in which I'm making progress**
* **Areas where I need more support**
* **To support progress, we will (parent and setting)**
* **Ideas to try at home** — a few simple, playful things the family could do together (optional)
* **In my own words** — what the child says, enjoys or tells you about themselves (optional)
* **Other professionals involved and our plan** — your SENCO, the health visitor or anyone else supporting the child, and how you'll work together (optional)
Your setting may hide some of the optional boxes. Write in plain, warm language — this is for the family, not for other professionals.
## Step 6: Choose the evidence
Under **Moments that show this**, link up to six of the child's published observations that show their development. Families can open each one from the check, and the PDF lists them by date and title.
1. Click **+ Add evidence**. If you've drafted the check, you can click **The draft suggests N observations — review them** instead.
2. Click the observations you want. Suggested ones are marked ✨.
3. Click **Done**.
Only observations inside **Observations to draw on** are listed. If one you want is missing, widen the dates at the top of the check and save.
## Step 7: Add comments and sign
1. Write your **Key person comment**.
2. If you've talked the check through with the family, note what they said in **Parent / carer comment**. Otherwise leave it blank — parents can add their own comment when they sign.
3. Click **Sign** in the **Key person signature** box.
4. Draw your signature in the box (or click **Use my signature** if you've saved one), type your full name, and click **Sign**.
Your signature confirms the check is your summary of the child's development. If someone else changes the check after you've signed — an approver tidying the wording, say — your signature is cleared and you'll be asked to **Sign again**.
## Step 8: Submit or share
Click **Save** to keep your work. When the check is finished:
* Most staff click **Submit for approval**. An approver reviews it and shares it with the family, or returns it to you with a comment.
* If you have the **Publisher** role or you're a manager, you'll see **Share with family** instead. You can add a personal message to the email. It's included in that email only, not on the check.
The check can't be shared until it's ready. If something is missing, a note above the buttons tells you what — for example *"Choose a level for every aspect (2 to go)"* or *"The key person needs to sign before the check is shared."*
Writing reminders also apply. Click **Fix all** to accept the suggested rewrites, or **Proceed anyway** to carry on.
## After it's shared
Every parent with parental responsibility is emailed and asked to read and sign the check online. The check shows when each parent has opened it, and whether anyone has signed. On the tracking list, the row shows **Awaiting parent signature** with **Read** or **Not opened**.
* If no one has signed after a week, parents get one reminder. Approvers can send another with **Resend to parents**.
* When the first parent signs, the check is complete and becomes read-only.
* If something needs changing after that, a manager can **Reopen** it. Both signatures are cleared, it comes back to you with their reason, and parents sign again once it's reshared.
Click **PDF** at any time to download the check laid out like a paper form.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### Why can't I start a check for this child?
Only the child's key person or a manager can start one. If the row says **Key person to start**, it's someone else's child. If it says **Being written**, someone has already started it.
### The child goes to another setting too. Who does the check?
The setting where the child spends most of their time. If that's the other setting, record it with **Already done → Done at another setting**. Attaching their copy is optional.
### Can I change the check after the family has signed it?
No. It's locked once a parent signs. Ask a manager to **Reopen** it.
### Draft from observations isn't working.
If the button says **No observations in this period to draft from**, widen the **Observations to draw on** dates and save. If it says **Save the new dates first**, click **Save**. If there's no button at all, your setting has AI drafting switched off for two-year checks — write the check yourself.
### Do the children's photos go to the AI?
No. Only the text of the child's published observations is used. Photos and videos are never sent.
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