Question 1

Is BeehiveKin right for solo childminders?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Most of the settings we work with are one person. Separate staff logins are coming; for now a setting runs on the owner account, which is enough for a childminder working alone.

Question 2

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

Every record is held in the UK or the EU and never leaves. We are the data processor and you are the controller, which means you decide what happens to it and you can ask us for a copy or a deletion at any time.

Question 3

Are the digital signatures legally valid?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We use eIDAS simple electronic signatures with a full timestamped audit trail, which are accepted for UK childcare contracts. A signed PDF is saved automatically for your records.

Question 4

Do parents have to pay?

Accepted Answer

No, and right now they do not even need an account. You send a contract or a consent and it opens in their browser from the link in their email, on any phone. Free for families, always.

Question 5

Will it help with Ofsted and the EYFS?

Accepted Answer

Your registers, consents and contracts are kept accurate and timestamped so your records stay Ofsted-ready, and learning-journal moments are tagged to EYFS areas of learning. (BeehiveKin is a software tool, not an Ofsted-registered Childminder Agency.)

Question 6

Does it cover the September 2026 EYFS changes?

Accepted Answer

The framework that applies from 1 September 2026 changes the wording around safer sleep, adds a duty to have regard to screen use, and moves safeguarding language from an allegation of serious harm to an allegation of harm. BeehiveKin keeps the records those duties rest on: dated consents, a register you can produce on request, and an audit trail on every signature. It does not write your policies for you.

Question 7

Is this for the whole UK?

Accepted Answer

England, for now. The consent pack follows the EYFS and the setup asks for an Ofsted URN, so it fits an English childminder or nursery. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different regulators and different statutory frameworks, and we would rather say not yet than sell you a pack citing the wrong one.

Question 8

What devices does it work on?

Accepted Answer

You can run your whole setting from the web today, on a laptop or a phone browser. The iPhone and Android apps are on their way. Parents need nothing installed, contracts and consents open from the link you send them.