# OWNA Childcare App — Not another Childcare App

> All-in-one free childcare management app for families, educators, and centers. (iPhone/iPad app by Owna.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owna-childcare-app/id1318604128 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Owna](https://appshunter.io/developer/1185352936)
- Category: Education, Photo & Video
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.70/5 from 6 App Store ratings · 132 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 79 MB
- Languages: Australian English, Armenian, French (France), Hindi, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish, Vietnamese
- Released: 2017-12-02
- Data updated: 2026-08-29
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owna-childcare-app/id1318604128/reviews.md

## What is OWNA Childcare App?

Welcome to the OWNA Childcare App! The Best Childcare App for Families and Centres and it's all for FREE.

For Educators
- Curriculum Programming & Planning
- Upload Images, Videos & PDFs
- Portfolios - Observations, Follow Ups, Learning Stories ++
- Record Daily Routine - Meals, Sleep, Sunscreen, Nappies, Bottles, Sleep Check++
- Complete Checklists
- Private Messaging
- Receive Notification Alerts
- Checkin/Out (Timesheets)
- QIP - View & Contribute
- Looks Great & Easy to use
- Super fast and robust
- Plus loads more+++

For Parents
- View children's Daily Stats (meal, sleep, bottles etc) with past history
- Digital Attendances (time logged, signature captured)
- View Writeups, Images and Videos
- Read Children's Portfolios
- Notify Centre of Non Attendances
- Upload Immunisation Record
- View Programs, Policy Documents & more
- Events Calendar
- Secure Communication with Centre
- Receive Notification Alerts
- Looks Great & Easy to use
- Plus loads more+++

For Owners/Directors/Management
- App for both Educators & Parents
- Responsible Person & Daily RP Log
- Room Ratio/Across the Service Check
- Digitise Reports - as per ACECQA's req'd
- Administration Dashboard to oversee your Centre or multiple Centres
- Centre Documents, Policies & Procedures, Helpful websites and more
- Staff Timesheets, Stats & Performance
- Events Calendar
- Centre's Menus with automatic rotation
- QIP Report
- Safe & Secure Platform. Data stored locally. Adhere to industry standards.
- Plus loads more+++

So if your centre is not on OWNA - tell them to get on it now!

Enjoy and do let us know what you think.
- OWNA Childcare App

## Key features

- Curriculum programming and planning
- Child portfolios and daily routine tracking
- Secure messaging and notifications
- Digital attendance and check-in/out
- Center administration dashboard
- Document and policy management

## What do users think of OWNA Childcare App?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 📱 Real-time updates on child's activities, meals, sleep, and toileting
- 📸 Photo and video sharing throughout the day
- ✅ Easy check-in/check-out functionality
- 💬 Seamless communication with educators
- 📋 Centralized platform for all childcare information
- 🔔 Timely notifications about child's day
- 💳 Convenient invoice and payment management
- 📅 Calendar and event reminders
- 🎯 Ability to mark absences quickly
- 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Peace of mind for working parents
- 📄 Digital form completion and incident reports
- 🚀 Smooth and responsive performance
- 🎨 Clean, organized layout

**Cons**

- 🗺️ Confusing and illogical navigation structure
- ❌ Poor user interface design
- 🐛 Frequent freezing and crashing
- ⏱️ Slow loading times for photos and videos
- 🔀 Inconsistent menu placement across app
- 📱 Multiple logins required for multiple children
- 🚫 Difficult account switching between facilities
- 🎯 Unintuitive user flow and layout
- ⚠️ Inadequate error handling and feedback
- 🔊 Video playback issues (no sound)
- 📲 Unreliable or delayed notifications
- 🛒 Unnecessary shop feature cluttering interface
- 🔐 Account management issues
- 📸 Photo gallery navigation is cumbersome

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes and freezes frequently
- Sign-in/sign-out not registering properly
- Photos and videos fail to load or load slowly
- Video playback without sound
- Notifications delayed by hours or days
- Date picker selecting wrong year (2025 vs 2026)
- Child profile photos not displaying (only initials)
- Some notifications missing from in-app list
- Ad pop-ups blocking account switching
- Dynamic Island covering video player buttons on iOS
- Single tap on photos unexpectedly exits view
- Like button slow to register
- Comments and notes disappearing from checklists
- Attendance records not showing after sign-in
- Form data not saving properly on connection drop
- Mute button for conversations not functioning
- Dark mode toggle not working
- Back gesture not supported on iOS
- Photo gallery not updating properly on iPad
- Slow performance and responsiveness issues

**Most requested features**

- Dark mode or customizable color themes
- Multi-child support in single login account
- Direct messaging with educators
- Ability to mark favorite or pin important items
- Photo thumbnail preview while scrolling
- Live chat support, especially for finance
- Multiple parent/guardian access from one account
- Permanent booking options
- Group booking and cancellation functionality
- Draft save feature for long enrollment forms
- Confirmation copy of submitted forms
- Badge notifications for new posts
- Chronological photo viewing by child
- Better iPad landscape/portrait layout support
- Ability to filter marketplace by multiple locations
- Notification preferences and mute options
- Improved roster viewing for staff
- Under/over threes staff ratio display
- Integrated form functions instead of linked ones

## Recent user reviews (10 of 132)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/owna-childcare-app/id1318604128/reviews.md

### 1/5 — What notifications?

*2026-07-08, version 1.99.244*

Would love to have notifications but they never come through. Other parents tell me same for them. Pretty annoying if educator trying to communicate with you about your child and you only see it because you have to habitually check the app.

### 1/5 — Spam

*2026-05-18, version 1.99.239*

The app I’m forced to use for daycare is now spamming me with stuff for sale.

### 2/5 — Janky Problematic App

*2026-04-01, version 1.99.234*

Ok when it works but regularly has problems and feels inconsistent and low quality. Too unreliable.

### 2/5 — How not to do error handling

*2026-01-19, version 1.99.219*

Having a button not reacting to anything instead why is it not reacting to anything - at a not really used place as child sign in/out is not considered a good practice pretty much since the 80s.

When signing in a child via pin, there is a signature field. Despite that field the application ask for a signature in the pop up. Where these developer learned programming?!

### 3/5 — So clunky

*2025-10-16, version 1.99.216*

Needs major improvement

### 1/5 — App offers everything I don’t need

*2025-09-23, version 1.99.214*

The app has many options but trying to connect my account with my child is impossible. There’s no way to delete your account from the app. There’s even a shop but not helpful options to do what it should be doing.

### 1/5 — Clunky

*2025-09-22, version 1.99.214*

I find this ap fine if you have one child attending one centre. If you have multiple children across multiple centres then the ap is clunky. It needs to be streamlined better.

### 5/5 — A must have app for parents with kids in childcare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*2025-09-13, version 1.99.212*

I use the OWNA app for my kids’ childcare centre and it’s been great. I regularly see updates throughout the day such as photos of what my kids are doing and what they’re learning, updates on toileting, meals and sleep times. It gives me the ability to sign them in/out and mark them as absent when I need to without having to call or email the centre along with other functions that are useful. This app makes communication with the centre seamless, quick and reliable. It’s by far the best app I have seen that is used by parents with kids in childcare.

### 5/5 — Great mobile app

*2025-09-09, version 1.99.212*

The Owna mobile app has excellent usability — I’ve never experienced any delays in loading or navigating, and it feels much smoother than other mobile apps I’ve used in the past. It’s super responsive and clearly designed with care. The only thing I’d suggest is adding a few extra features like the ability to mark favorites or pin important items. Overall, a great app!

### 5/5 — great app

*2025-09-08, version 1.99.212*

Have been using this app for my kids childcare, its super easy to use and navigate through each section it

## Frequently asked questions about OWNA Childcare App

### What does the OWNA Childcare App do?

This app serves as a comprehensive platform for childcare centers, connecting educators, parents, and management. It facilitates curriculum planning, daily routine tracking, portfolio development, secure communication, and administrative oversight for center operations.

### What are the key features for educators and parents?

Educators can use it for curriculum programming, uploading media, creating portfolios, recording daily routines, and managing check-ins. Parents can view daily stats, digital attendances, write-ups, portfolios, and communicate securely with the center.

### Is the OWNA Childcare App free to use?

Yes, the app is completely free for families and centers. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned in the provided description, indicating a free service.

### How does the app help with center management?

For owners and directors, the app provides an administration dashboard to oversee centers, manage staff timesheets, digitize reports, store center documents, and manage events. It also includes features for responsible person logs and room ratio checks.

### What kind of information can parents access?

Parents can view their child's daily stats like meals and sleep, digital attendance records with signatures, photos, videos, and learning stories. They can also access program documents, policy information, and the center's events calendar.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.99.246 — 2026-07-23

- Fixed an issue where tag selection in Staff Reflection accidentally log out user

Update now if you are experiencing this issue!

### 1.99.245 — 2026-07-08

- Fixed an issue where some parents couldn't make a Casual Booking

Update now and enjoy!

### 1.99.244 — 2026-07-06

• Introducing Mind Map, a new feature for educator users
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

Update now and enjoy!

### 1.99.243 — 2026-07-01

What's New
• New casual booking flow with improved validation
• Re-enrolments now support Groups configuration
• Staff can dismiss shift bids, with email notifications
• Improved sorting for vacant shifts
• Incident reports no longer allow future dates
• Only tagged staff can now edit programs

Bug Fixes
• Profile and birthday photos now refresh straight away
• Layout fixes for iPad and Pin/Public mode

Update now and enjoy!

### 1.99.242 — 2026-06-18

What's new?
- Jotting is now available for educator users
- Updated the visibility of disability icons
- SSO login now supports Kidsoft accounts
- Bug fixes and performance improvements

Update now to enjoy the latest improvements!

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## More apps by Owna

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All apps by Owna: https://appshunter.io/developer/1185352936

## Related topics

[owna childcare app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/owna-childcare-app) · [aussie childcare network](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/aussie-childcare-network)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*