Tes MyConcern vs On the Button - Which safeguarding system is the better fit for an early years setting?

If you are looking for a safeguarding system for a nursery or preschool, Tes MyConcern is likely to appear in your search. It is established, widely used and backed by a major education company. It should not be dismissed simply because it was not created specifically for early years providers.

We created On the Button, so this is not an independent review. That is worth saying at the start. What we can do is compare the two using current public information, clarify where MyConcern is strong, and explain why some early years providers may still prefer a specialist system.

Accuracy note: This comparison was checked agains the official Tes and On the Button websites on 17/7/26. Products, packages and prices can change. MyConcern does not publish its price, so you will need a written quotation before making a proper cost comparison.

The short answer

Both systems can record safeguarding concerns, build chronologies, manage actions and produce reports. MyConcern is a mature safeguarding case-management platform marketed primarily to schools and trusts. Its current package includes pupil or student concerns, staff safeguarding and anonymous community reporting, with school MIS integrations and separate trust-level reporting available through Tes Clarity.

On the Button is built only for nurseries, preschools, wrap-around provision and early years clubs. Alongside safeguarding, it has separate child and staff well-being records, parent complaint management, anonymous whistleblowing, a 3D body map, and immediate SMS and email alerts. Plus a safer-recruitment ‘trail’ and a matrix with reminders about staff training achievements and needs.

For a nursery attached to a school or a multi-academy trust, particularly where MIS integration and trust reporting are important, MyConcern may be the more obvious route. For a stand-alone nursery, preschool or early years group that wants a system shaped around EYFS practice and transparent per-place pricing, On the Button may be the closer fit.

Where Tes MyConcern is strong

MyConcern has been developed over many years and has a substantial user base. Tes describes it as safeguarding software for schools, but its published case studies also show it being used by colleges, sports organisations and other services. Some school groups using it include early years provision, too.

Its core case-management functions are well developed. The public Tes information describes customised reports, automated chronologies, secure information sharing, categories of concern and the ability to track actions. Official case studies also refer to immediate notifications, body maps, file uploads and straightforward reporting by staff working off-site.

For schools, the MIS integrations may be a real advantage. Tes lists Wonde integrations with systems including Arbor, SIMS and Bromcom. Larger trusts can also pair MyConcern with Tes Clarity to compare safeguarding data across establishments.

It is also important to recognise that MyConcern now covers more within the main offer than it once did. Staff allegations and low-level concerns have their own secure area, while community reporting allows students, parents and other members of the school community to report concerns, including anonymously.

Where On the Button is different

Catherine did not set out to build a school system. On the Button came from early years practice and from the problem of small observations being mentioned verbally, written on paper or held in different places. It is designed so that the people closest to the children, including practitioners, bank staff, students and volunteers, can record what they notice while it is still fresh.

Safeguarding entries trigger immediate SMS and email alerts to the people chosen by the setting. Well-being entries are brought to senior attention through a daily review. Leaders can add actions and outcomes, see the chronology and export a fixed, read-only report when information needs to be shared.

In an early years setting, these records often overlap. A small early years well-being note may later form part of an early years safeguarding chronology. A parent's concern may begin as early years complaint management and reveal a practice issue. That is why On the Button brings EYFS safeguarding, EYFS well-being and EYFS complaint management together while keeping access controlled.

On the Button also includes confidential whistleblowing, a 3D body map, safer recruitment records and a training matrix. Those features sit around the safeguarding and well-being work rather than turning the system into a general nursery administration package.

At a Glance

Feature Tes MyConcern On the Button
Public positioning Safeguarding software for schools and trusts. Also used by colleges and other organisations. Specialist safeguarding, well-being and complaint management for nurseries, preschools, wrap-around provision and early years clubs.
Recording concerns Staff can record and manage safeguarding concerns using categories, actions and case records. The whole team can record safeguarding and low-level observations, including students and volunteers, subject to permissions.
Chronologies and reports Automated chronologies, customised reports, downloads and secure information sharing. Chronologies link concerns, actions and outcomes. Fixed, read-only reports can be exported by case or date range.
Alerts Tes case studies describe immediate notifications. The public product page does not state that SMS alerts are included. Immediate SMS and email alerts for safeguarding. Daily SMS and email prompts for well-being review. SMS is included without a usage limit.
Staff safeguarding Included within MyConcern in a separate secure area for allegations, low-level concerns and self-referrals. Staff concerns and whistleblowing can be recorded within the same early years system, with need-to-know access.
Anonymous reporting Community reporting for students, parents and the wider community, including anonymous reports. Anonymous whistleblowing for team members raising concerns about staff, policy or practice.
Well-being Can be used to record well-being concerns. Public pages do not describe a separate early years child, family and staff well-being workflow. Separate child, family and staff well-being entries sit alongside safeguarding and are reviewed by leaders.
Parent complaints A dedicated parent complaint-management process is not described on the public MyConcern pages checked. Complaints can be logged, acknowledged, investigated, linked to evidence and followed through to an outcome.
Injury and body mapping Official case studies say body maps can be added to concerns. Public information does not describe a 3D body map. Interactive 3D body maps for recording the position and detail of injuries.
Integration and group reporting Wonde integration with several school MIS products. Tes Clarity provides separate multi-establishment reporting for trusts and local authorities. Stand-alone early years system with access for individual settings and groups. It is not intended to replace a school MIS.
Published pricing No public price. A consultation and quotation are required. £1 per registered place to set up, then £8 per registered place annually or 73p monthly. Minimum 25 places. No VAT is added.

“Not described publicly” does not mean a feature is definitely unavailable. It means we could not verify it from Tes's current public pages. Ask to see it during a consultation.

Some of the similar-sounding features are not identical

Anonymous reporting is a good example. MyConcern's community reporting is intended to give students, parents and the wider community a route to raise safeguarding and well-being concerns. On the Button's anonymous route is whistleblowing for staff and other team members who need to raise a concern about a colleague, policy or practice. Those are different needs.

The same applies to staff safeguarding. MyConcern provides a dedicated, secure area, separate from pupil or student concerns. On the Button keeps staff concerns within the same early years system, but uses permissions to limit who can see and manage them.

Neither approach is automatically better. The practical question is who needs to report, who must be alerted, who can read the record, and whether the resulting chronology gives the safeguarding lead what they need.

What does each system cost?

Tes does not publish a MyConcern price. You need to book a consultation and request a quotation. That makes it impossible to give a responsible like-for-like cost comparison here. Old forum posts, historic tenders and second-hand figures may no longer reflect the current package.

When you ask for a MyConcern quote, check what is included. In particular, ask whether staff safeguarding and community reporting are included in the price offered to you, whether Clarity or any integrations cost extra, how many establishments and users are covered, what training is provided, and what the contract and notice period are.

On the Button publishes its charges:

• One-off set-up: £1 per registered place

• Annual subscription: £8 per registered place

• Monthly subscription: 73p per registered place

• Minimum subscription: 25 registered places

• VAT: not applicable

A 50-place setting therefore pays £50 to set up and £400 a year, or £36.50 a month. On the Button also has a 90-day money-back guarantee followed by one calendar month's notice. Qualifying multi-setting organisations may receive an implementation credit against the set-up fee, so groups should ask for their figures in writing.

Who is each system likely to suit?

Tes MyConcern may make more sense when:

• The nursery is part of a school or multi-academy trust already using school MIS products;

• Leaders want a long-established case-management system used across several education phases;

• trust-level comparison through Tes Clarity is important;

• Anonymous reporting from pupils, parents and the wider community is a priority;

• The organisation wants to work with a large education supplier.

On the Button may make more sense when:

• You run a nursery, preschool, wrap-around provision or club rather than a school;

• You want safeguarding, child and staff well-being, complaints and whistleblowing together;

• You want practitioners, bank staff, students and volunteers to record concerns promptly;

• SMS alerts to senior leaders are important, including when they are away from the setting;

• You want to see the price before speaking to anyone and do not want a long commitment.

Questions you should ask both providers

1. Show me exactly how a concern moves from a phone or computer to the safeguarding lead.

2. How is the safeguarding lead alerted? Is it an email, an on-screen notification, an SMS, or a mixture?

3. What happens if the main safeguarding lead is absent?

4. Who can report anonymously, and who can see the identity of the person reporting?

5. How are staff allegations and low-level concerns kept separate and confidential?

6. Can I record child and staff well-being without turning every note into a safeguarding case?

7. Can I manage a parent complaint from acknowledgement through to outcome?

8. Show me the body map and the report that would be shared with Social Care or the LADO.

9. Can students, volunteers and bank staff record concerns without seeing confidential records?

10. What is the total cost, including VAT, onboarding, training, integrations, group reporting and support?

11. How long is the contract, what notice is required, and how do I retrieve my records if I leave?

The honest view

Do we think On the Button is the right choice for every organisation? No. That would not be credible. A school-based nursery already working within Tes systems may find MyConcern a sensible and convenient choice. A multi-academy trust may place more value on school MIS links and Clarity than on features designed specifically for stand-alone nurseries.

But a nursery or preschool should not assume that the largest or best-known school system must also be the best early years system. Look carefully at the daily workflow. Who records the small concern? How quickly is the right person alerted? Where do well-being and complaints sit? Can the whole team use it without being given access to information they should not see?

See both systems. Ask both providers the same questions. Get the full price and terms in writing. Then choose the one that fits the way your setting actually works, not simply the one with the most familiar name.

Reviews See How it Works Pricing

Sources

This comparison uses the providers’ own descriptions of their purpose and approach: Tes MyConcern and On the Button. Product details should be checked directly before making a decision.

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