The On the Button Story: Made for Early Years, Not just Adapted
On the Button is the specialist early years safeguarding software expertly designed to also promote well-being, complaint management and compliance. Designed by early years professionals, for early years settings, it was built from real experience in busy rooms. It helps staff log concerns quickly, gives leaders clear oversight, and supports EYFS practice without the paperwork headache.
Built by Quality Early Years Ltd (Founder has 50 + years in Early Years practice + 35 years in devleoping software).
On the Button officially launched in April 25 after the body map was developed and is actively maintained with continuous development.
It began in real rooms, with real children.
After more than 50 years in early years and four Ofsted Outstanding settings, Catherine knew the feeling that keeps leaders awake at night: rushing to respond to a concern, wondering if a quiet comment ever reached a log, and seeing how staff well-being and family support sit at the heart of EYFS safeguarding. She wanted something simple that worked in busy rooms, not just something that looked tidy on paper.
“Having experienced the challenges first-hand, I just wanted something that actually worked in EYFS settings, something simple, that could save time, reduce stress, and support the people doing the work.”
Because sometimes, something doesn’t feel quite right. A new behaviour. A change in how a child plays, reacts, or connects. On their own, these things might just be part of growing up. But maybe… they’re not. Maybe they’re trying to tell us something.
Children don’t usually tell us directly. They show us. And if we don’t notice, or we notice but do nothing, those early signs can harden into long-term struggles.
It gives practitioners a clear place to record what matters in the moment and gives seniors calm oversight, helping the right people act at the right time.
On the Button is expertly designed to also promote well-being, complaint management and compliance, keeping key information clear, connected and separate from general admin clutter. Whether it is responding to safeguarding concerns in line with EYFS, managing complaints in nurseries, or supporting early years staff well-being, On the Button is built for the realities of early years practice.
To ensure we were on the right track, we sought the input of two independent early years consultants who regularly deliver safeguarding training. They went on to endorse On the Button, confirming it supports good practice and meets EYFS safeguarding and compliance expectations.
On the Button grew from that lived experience.
From the very beginning, our focus has been on progress, not just polish.
We regularly engage with our users in open Get-Togethers, gather their ideas, and implement improvements that make their work easier.
• EYFS Complaint Management arrived in October 2024, supporting early years complaint management with a clear, trackable process.
• 3D Body Mapping followed in March 2025, helping staff record physical concerns with accuracy and confidence.
• In September 2025, we added a Safer Recruitment Process Log and a Training Matrix with renewal alerts, supporting EYFS safer recruitment, early years training compliance, and giving space for each setting’s own courses
In January 2025, we introduced On the Button Accreditation.
This recognises settings that use the software consistently and effectively across their whole team. It’s not about ticking boxes, but about embedding good EYFS well-being policy and safeguarding practice into everyday routines.
Settings that meet the criteria earn Accreditation status, showing families, staff and inspectors that they take safeguarding seriously. By April 2025, five settings had achieved it.
To support and celebrate those who help spread the word, we launched the On the Button Champions in October 2025.
These are settings or individuals who regularly engage with our content, share insights, and help others strengthen their early years safeguarding and well-being practice. Whether it’s liking a blog post, commenting on a serious case review, or recommending us to a colleague, their support helps build a stronger early years community.
And we’re not done yet. More features are in development, shaped by the people who use On the Button every day.
The word has spread.
From a soft launch with six settings up to April 2025, we expanded to support 18 settings from June, before the start of the new academic year, with momentum building.
That represents a 200% growth. If we consider the maximum number of children that can attend at one time in these settings, there has been a 264% increase, alongside a footprint that now spans 11 regions across England.
November 2025: recognition for what we were building:
By November 2025, On the Button had begun to gain wider recognition across the early years sector and beyond.
We were proud to be Highly Commended in the Teach Early Years Awards 2025, in the Happy & Healthy category. This meant a great deal because On the Button was still in its first year of launch, and the recognition reflected exactly why it was created: to support educators, strengthen safeguarding practice, reduce stress, and help settings keep children safe.
We were also finalists in the NMT Awards for Technology Product of the Year and the GESS Education Awards for Early Years Resource or Equipment Supplier of the Year. Having entered three awards and been recognised in all three gave us real encouragement that On the Button was meeting a genuine need in the sector.
For us, this was never just about awards. It was a sign that the work, the conversations, the listening, and the continuous development were starting to make a difference.
November 2025: Ofsted’s renewed focus on safeguarding culture
Also in November 2025, Ofsted’s revised early years inspection approach came into use. The new inspection materials placed a clear emphasis on the importance of an open and positive safeguarding culture, and on how safeguarding is embedded in everyday practice across a setting.
For On the Button, this felt significant. The system had been created to help early years leaders and teams do exactly that: notice concerns early, record clearly, respond appropriately, evidence action over time, and keep safeguarding visible rather than hidden in folders, emails or separate systems.
It reinforced something we had believed from the beginning: safeguarding is not just a policy or a file. It is a culture, built through consistent practice, shared responsibility, clear oversight and confident leadership.
As 2025 came to a close, we continued listening carefully to the early years leaders, DSLs, managers and educators using On the Button every day.
Their feedback helped shape the next stage of development, ensuring the system remained practical, proportionate and rooted in real nursery life. We continued refining the platform to support clearer oversight, stronger safeguarding records, safer recruitment, staff well-being, complaints, whistleblowing, professional development and the everyday decisions that help keep children safe.
By the end of the year, On the Button was no longer simply a new idea. It had become a growing community of settings, conversations and shared practice, all focused on making safeguarding more visible, manageable and meaningful.om the beginning: safeguarding is not just a policy or a file. It is a culture, built through consistent practice, shared responsibility, clear oversight and confident leadership.
What users say matters most.
"Definitely do it… keeps safeguarding in one place and is quick to log. Staff now record straight away and we review it while it is fresh." - Di Scott, Manager and DSL, Shropshire.
"Not just safeguarding, well-being too… simple, not over-complicated, and staff log more because it is right there in the room." - Sarah Hickenbottom, Owner, Leicestershire.
"From paper to computer is the way forward… saves time, and multiple staff can add to the same case." - Hayley, Deputy DSL, Suffolk
1st January 2026: our enhanced security went live
From the very beginning, security was built into On the Button. Safeguarding and well-being records contain some of the most sensitive information a setting holds, so protecting that information has always been central to how the platform has been designed.
On 1st January 2026, additional security measures went live as part of our ongoing commitment to keeping data safe. This was not because our previous systems were insecure, but because we believe safeguarding software should continue to evolve, review risk, and strengthen protection as it grows.
For us, security is part of safeguarding itself. On the Button was created to help protect children, support staff and give leaders confidence. That means treating data protection as an ongoing responsibility, not a one-off task.
March 2026: starting On the Button Conversations
In March 2026, we started something new: On the Button Conversations.
These conversations were created to bring people together around the issues that matter in early years, safeguarding, leadership, technology, staff well-being and child-centred practice. We wanted them to feel open, practical and thoughtful, giving space for different voices across the sector.
The first conversation was with Richard Waite, Early Years EdTech Advisor and trainer, exploring AI in Early Years. At a time when technology is moving quickly, the conversation gave us an opportunity to think carefully about how AI might support practice, where caution is needed, and how early years leaders can keep children, ethics and professional judgement at the centre.
For On the Button, this marked another step in our journey. We were no longer only building software. We were also helping to create conversations around the practice, values and responsibilities that sit behind it.
March 2026: sharing our thinking more widely
In March 2026, our work and thinking began to be shared more widely across the early years sector.
Catherine contributed to TEACH Early Years Magazine with Building a Culture of Safeguarding, and to NMT Magazine with Be Ready For Reform. Both pieces reflected the same message behind On the Button: safeguarding is strongest when it is visible, embedded in everyday practice and supported by confident leadership.
For us, this was another important step. On the Button was not only supporting settings through software, it was also helping to shape wider conversations about safeguarding, reform, leadership and keeping children at the centre.
2026: recognised for customer service and social impact
In 2026, On the Button was shortlisted twice at The Official UK Small Business Awards, as a finalist for Best Customer Service and Best Social Impact. This was a proud moment because both categories reflect what On the Button has always been about: people, trust, listening, support and making a meaningful difference.
For us, customer service has never meant simply answering questions. It means listening to early years leaders, understanding the pressure they carry, responding with care and continuing to improve the system around real practice.
Being recognised for social impact also mattered deeply. On the Button was created to support safeguarding, well-being and safer cultures in early years settings. To have that purpose recognised beyond the sector was another important step in our journey.y
2026: Accreditation continued to grow
Our On the Button Accreditation also continued to grow into 2026.
Accreditation recognises settings that use On the Button consistently across their whole team, showing that safeguarding and well-being are not just written into policies, but embedded into everyday practice. It reflects a whole-setting approach, with leaders, DSLs and educators all playing their part.
For us, this has always been more than a badge. It is a way of recognising settings that are using On the Button to strengthen oversight, improve accountability and make safeguarding more visible in daily early years life.
As more settings worked towards or achieved Accreditation, it became another sign that On the Button was helping to turn good intentions into consistent practice.
2026: still listening, still developing
As On the Button continued to grow through 2026, the purpose remained the same.
We kept listening to the settings using the software, learning from their experiences and shaping development around real early years practice. Every improvement, conversation, feature and piece of feedback came back to the same question: does this help settings protect children, support staff and keep safeguarding visible?
On the Button has never been about adding more paperwork. It is about helping teams notice sooner, record clearly, respond confidently and see the bigger picture over time.
The journey is still continuing, but the heart of it has not changed. On the Button was made for early years, by people who understand early years, and we will keep developing it with that same commitment.
If you are comparing school-first systems with early years practice, we are built for the realities of early years settings.
We believe safeguarding should be part of the rhythm of the day, with well-being, complaint management and compliance supported clearly alongside it, not treated as separate admin tasks.
Want to see how it works in your setting? See a 15-minute walkthrough and get a feel for how On the Button can support your team.
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Find out who will support you and listen to your ideas about On the Button, with the aim that safeguarding is paramount in nurseries and preschools, with well-being, complaint management and compliance supported clearly alongside it.
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