Pigeonhole is paid nursery-management software for early years settings in England. It combines attendance, funding claims, family communication, learning journals, billing, and administrative records. A live register tracks check-ins and attendance counts across rooms. Setting records can generate digital parental declarations and funding claims, with council forms configured separately for each council. Staff can add photos, child and learning-area tags, and dictated notes to learning journals, then share approved observations with families. AI tools can draft observations, summarize forms and documents, and answer setting questions; staff must review generated content before sharing. Invoices sync with Xero or QuickBooks, and payment information can flow back to mark them paid. A Chrome extension fills recognized fields in council provider portals. Other features include safeguarding, occupancy, rotas, custom forms, a parent portal, announcements, and finance reporting. A 30-day trial requires no card, while subscriptions are paid yearly and exclude VAT.
Who it is for
Pigeonhole suits English early years settings managing attendance, funding, family communication, learning records, and billing. It is aimed at teams needing role-based records and council-specific funding workflows.
What is good
- Live attendance register across rooms
- Digital funding and parental declarations
- Learning journals with photos and dictated notes
- Xero and QuickBooks invoice syncing
- 30-day trial without card details
What to know first
- Funding forms vary by council
- Chrome extension fills only recognized fields
- Subscriptions are paid yearly
- Prices exclude VAT
Verdict
Pigeonhole brings core nursery administration and family-facing records into one system, with accounting integrations and reviewed AI assistance. Check council-form coverage and the extension’s recognized-field limitation for your workflow.
Pigeonhole plans and pricing
All plansCompared on early childhood education software
- Free plan
- No
- Enrollment management
- Yes
- Family communication
- Yes
- Attendance and check-in
- Yes
- Billing and payments
- Yes
