iPhone · iPad · Android

The nursery app for parents and staff

Parents see their child's journal, diary, news, forms and invoices on their phone. Your team takes the register and writes observations on a shared room tablet. It's one app, and it's included in the price.

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Download Pigeonhole on the App StoreGet Pigeonhole on Google Play

The app needs an account from a nursery that uses Pigeonhole.

The staff app on a tablet: the register, with children checked in and live attendance for each age group
The parent app on a phone: news from the nursery and a journal entry on the home screen

For families

Their child's day, in their pocket

Parents open the app because it has photos of their child in it. While they're there, they read your news, fill in your forms and see their invoices.

  • A child's learning journal in the parent app, with a photo of two children building block towers

    The learning journal

    Photos and stories from their child's key person, the moment you share them. Parents can like an entry and comment on it.

  • The diary in the parent app, listing this week's sessions with funded hours and a Report an absence button

    Diary and absences

    Their child's sessions and funded hours for the weeks ahead, and the day's meals, naps and nappies if you share them. Off sick? They tell you in a few taps.

  • Notification settings in the parent app, with app, email, both or off for each kind of update

    Notifications they choose

    App, email, both or off for each kind of update, and a weekly summary for parents who'd rather not hear about every entry.

  • News

    Your announcements and trip reminders, with the photos, on every parent's phone.

  • Forms

    Permissions, care details and funding declarations, filled in and signed on a phone.

  • Invoices

    Every invoice, what's been paid and what's due, without an email to the office.

  • Reports and documents

    Progress reports and your policies, there whenever a parent wants them.

  • Moments from home

    Parents send a photo of something their child did at home. You check it before it joins the journal.

  • Face ID or fingerprint

    The app opens with a glance and locks again, so a child's photos stay private.

Parents set it up themselves: the guide we give families.

For your team

Built for the tablet the whole room shares

The day gets recorded as it happens, in the room, by whoever is nearest the tablet. Nothing is written up at home time.

  • The register in the staff app, with children checked in and live attendance for each age group

    The register

    Check children in and out as they arrive, with live attendance for every room and age group.

  • Writing an observation in the staff app: rough notes turned into a write-up, with photos and learning links

    Observations with AI Assist

    Take the photo, tag the children, and jot or say what happened. Pigeonhole drafts the write-up and suggests learning links for you to check.

  • The care diary in the staff app, with four children selected and buttons for nappy, bottle, meal, sleep, toilet and medication

    The care diary

    Tick everyone it happened to and log lunch, a nappy round or nap time once for the whole group.

  • Accident and incident forms

    Mark the body map, get it approved and send it to the parent, without a sheet of paper.

  • Safeguarding

    Record a concern while it's fresh. The app asks for the person's PIN every time safeguarding is opened.

  • Announcements

    Post news and photos to families straight from the room.

  • A PIN for each person

    A manager signs the tablet in once. Each member of staff then works as themselves with their own PIN, with no email address needed.

  • Locks itself

    The app locks after a minute in the background, and you can limit staff sign-in to devices you've approved.

  • Tablet or phone

    Made for the shared room tablet, and it works the same on a phone.

ObservationsCare diaryAI writingSafeguarding
“My team and families have all used it easily with no problems.”
Owner, Hotwells Children's House · Bristol

Questions about the app

Does the app cost extra?
No. The parent app and the staff app are part of Pigeonhole at every size, and they're free for families and staff to download.
Which phones and tablets does it work on?
iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets. It's one app, called Pigeonhole Nursery Management, on the App Store and Google Play.
Do parents have to use the app?
No. Everything in the app is also on the website, and parents can choose email instead of app notifications. Anything they do in one shows up in the other.
How do parents get started?
They download the app and sign in with the email address you hold for them. There are no codes to hand out and nothing for you to set up.
Is it safe on a tablet the whole room shares?
Yes. Each person has their own PIN, so every register mark and observation is recorded against the person who made it. The app locks itself after a minute in the background, and safeguarding always asks for a PIN.
What if a member of staff is also a parent?
They use the same app on their own phone and switch between the staff view and the parent view.

Some features depend on what your nursery has switched on. See pricing.

See it on your own setting

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30-day free trial · no card needed · see pricing

Part of Pigeonhole's nursery management software.