Inspector Play

PDAT: Physical Development Audit Tool for Early Years

Understand your practice. Recognise your strengths. Know what to do next.

A whole-setting audit to support physical development, physical activity and physical literacy.

Buy a licence Watch a 1-minute tour

Developed by Dr Natalie Weir and Helen Battelley MA
Who’s behind PDAT

See inside PDAT

  • Section scores Example results
    1. Relationships13/16Embedded
    2. Development9/16Developing
    3. Environments14/16Embedded
    4. Participation10/16Developing
    5. Culture & Leadership6/16Emerging
    52/80Total score
    Your priority 1Quick win
    Culture & Leadership: leaders champion daily, playful movement
    Illustration only, not a real setting’s results
  • PDAT audit screen showing a statement with 0, 1 and 2 answer choices, an information button and a notes box
    Answer each statement: choose 0, 1 or 2 and add a short note.
  • PDAT section summary showing a colour-coded result band and a written summary for a made-up nursery
    Section summaries: written from your own answers and notes.
  • PDAT results dashboard showing scores and bands for all five sections, and changes since the last audit
    Your setting at a glance: scores and bands for all five sections.
  • PDAT recommendations screen showing ideas from the Building Blocks framework for a priority section
    Recommendations: ideas matched to your priorities.
  • PDAT action plan screen showing recommendation cards with Add to plan buttons
    Action plan: add the ideas you choose and download your plan.

  • Expert-developed. Created by early years experts in research and practice.

  • Evidence-informed. Underpinned by the Building Blocks for an Active Start Framework © Weir & Battelley (2025).

  • Personalised to your setting. Your results and summary come from your own answers.

  • No AI-generated advice. Every recommendation comes from our expert action library.

How it works

From reflection to action in three steps

PDAT is a reflective self-evaluation tool, so there are no right or wrong answers.

  1. 1

    Answer 40 statements

    Rate eight statements in each of five sections for what usually happens in your setting. It takes around 30 to 60 minutes, and works well as a whole team.

  2. 2

    See where you stand

    Each section shows as Emerging, Developing or Embedded, with a summary that picks up your strengths and the areas worth a closer look.

    EmergingDevelopingEmbedded
  3. 3

    Get a tailored action plan

    Choose your priorities and get practical recommendations for each one, ready to download and share with colleagues.

Who’s behind PDAT

Developed by Dr Natalie Weir and Helen Battelley MA

PDAT brings Natalie’s research and evaluation background together with Helen’s research knowledge in early childhood education and care and her practical expertise in early years physical development.

  • Photo of Dr Natalie Weir

    Dr Natalie Weir

    Founder, Inspector Play

    • PhD in early childhood physical activity and physical literacy
    • University of Derby Game Changer Awards 2026: Global Impact Idea winner
    • Inaugural Derby Impact Awards 2025: Social Entrepreneur of the Year finalist

    A researcher with over 20 years’ experience across community sport development, programme and product development, senior leadership, and research and insight. Natalie founded Inspector Play to help others in their mission to reduce childhood inactivity.

    Work with Natalie

  • Photo of Helen Battelley MA

    Helen Battelley MA

    Early years physical development consultant, trainer and author

    • Nursery World Early Years Trainer of the Year 2026
    • Association for Physical Education (AfPE) approved provider
    • Chair of National Early Years Active Start Partnership (NEYASP)

    An internationally renowned physical development expert, Helen delivers training on all aspects of physical development, from writing to physical play. She lectures and trains for four universities, including on Early Childhood Physical Development, and her consultancy takes her all over the world, from Malaysia to Dubai and from China to Romania.

    Work with Helen

As featured in

More

Publications

Podcasts and blogs

What PDAT looks at

Five sections, one whole-setting picture

Physical development is an EYFS Prime Area. PDAT examines indoor and outdoor, everyday practice and provision.

  • Section 1

    Relationships

    Physical Interactions & Building Relationships

    Physical interactions, co-play, attunement, relational safety, confidence and co-regulation

  • Section 2

    Development

    Physical Milestones, Learning and Development

    Physical milestones, motor competence, early learning links

  • Section 3

    Environments

    Space to Move, Play and Outdoor Play

    Space to move, outdoor play, enabling environments

  • Section 4

    Participation

    Daily Life, Autonomy and Choice

    Independence, motivation, child-led play

  • Section 5

    Culture & Leadership

    Whole-Setting Culture

    Shared vision, leadership, staff confidence, inclusion and whole-setting integration

Why movement matters

The challenges that drive our work

Dr Natalie Weir founded Inspector Play to help others in their mission to reduce childhood inactivity.

  • Rising obesity levels

  • Fewer young people enjoying physical activity

  • Increased use of technology over outdoor play

  • Existing inequalities have widened

What you get

More than a score

When you finish the audit, PDAT gives you practical guidance and support to help you take the next steps.

Watch a 1-minute tour

  • Results dashboard

    Scores for every section, an Emerging, Developing or Embedded result and a personalised written summary built from your responses and notes, using our predefined, expert-developed framework.

  • Results and action plan PDFs

    Download a clear results report and your action plan to share with colleagues and leaders.

  • Practical recommendations

    Ideas for each of your priorities, drawn from Building Blocks for an Active Start, at three levels.

    Quick winDevelop practiceBuild it in

  • Progress over time

    Repeat the audit and see what has changed since your last one. Every previous audit and action plan stays available.

  • Organisation reporting

    For nursery groups and local authorities: every setting’s progress and results across your organisation in one place.

  • Help as you go

    A glossary of terms and examples of what practice might look like, so every statement is clear.

Initial pilot

What pilot settings said

Initial pilot feedback suggests PDAT can support professional reflection and help settings identify practical next steps.

Allpilot settings agreed that PDAT helped them identify and prioritise realistic next steps

Allpilot settings agreed that completing the audit prompted useful reflection or discussion among staff

  • “It was lovely to complete as a whole staff audit and made us all think about different elements that we could improve upon and also what we did well.”
    Charlotte, Repton Manor Nursery
  • “We would not have thought about considering some of the statements without the Audit Tool to prompt us.”
    Lorraine, Rainbow Pre-School
  • “It made us reflect on our attitude to movement within our indoor setting and how this differs to our forest setting.”
    Claire, Wildlings

What changed

  • “Movement as part of co-regulation, we spent a long time discussing how we could use movement and how it could help them access a wide range of learning rather than a reactionary approach.”
    Claire, Wildlings
  • “Making us aware of areas we can celebrate and also areas to improve, we are actioning discussions with parents, starting points, cultural awareness and inclusion as well as sharing strategies with parents.”
    Marion, Soar Childcare & Education
  • “Sharing information with families about the importance of different movements.”
    Jo, Carlton Colville Preschool

All of the pilot settings reported changes planned or already under way, including more heavy-work opportunities, lifting, wheeling and den-building resources, and new ways to share movement ideas with families.

Source: PDAT pilot user evaluation, first completed responses (September 2026). Pilot settings used the paper version of PDAT. This is early, formative feedback from a small sample.

Pricing

A 12-month licence for childminders, settings and groups

Every licence gives you the full Physical Development Audit Tool (PDAT): the audit, your results and tailored recommendations.

Charitable organisation? Contact us about a discount.

  • Childminders

    For registered childminders only.

    £59a year

    Works out at £4.92 a month.

    Buy a Childminder licence

    One-off payment for 12 months.

    You’ll need your Ofsted URN or childminder agency registration number at checkout.

    What’s included

    • The full PDAT audit: 40 statements across the five sections
    • Instant scores and a visual results profile
    • Your setting’s strengths and development priorities
    • Tailored Quick Win, Develop Practice and Build It In recommendations
    • Practical resources and guidance linked to your priorities
    • A downloadable report and action plan
    • Repeat the audit during your licence and compare progress over time
    • Updates to PDAT guidance and resources while your licence runs

  • Single Setting

    For one early years setting: a nursery, pre-school or school early years unit.

    £149a year

    Works out at £12.42 a month.

    Buy a Single Setting licence

    One-off payment for 12 months.

    What’s included

    Everything listed for childminders: the same full audit, results and recommendations, for your whole setting.

    • The full PDAT audit: 40 statements across the five sections
    • Instant scores and a visual results profile
    • Your setting’s strengths and development priorities
    • Tailored Quick Win, Develop Practice and Build It In recommendations
    • Practical resources and guidance linked to your priorities
    • A downloadable report and action plan
    • Repeat the audit during your licence and compare progress over time
    • Updates to PDAT guidance and resources while your licence runs

  • Organisations

    For nursery groups, local authorities, Stronger Practice Hubs, academy trusts and school groups.

    From£995a year

    Works out at £82.92 a month for up to 10 settings. Larger groups are priced by number of settings. Invoiced.

    Book a 20-minute demo

    Get in touch

    Tell us how many settings you have and we’ll send you a quote.

    Everything for each setting, plus

    • A central view of all your settings and which have completed their audit
    • Combined results across PDAT sections, principles and statements
    • Organisation-wide strengths, gaps and common workforce development needs
    • Comparison between settings where appropriate
    • Reporting on repeat audits and change over time
    • A downloadable organisation report for senior leaders, boards, commissioners or funders
    • Clear control over who can see each setting’s results

Watch a 1-minute tour

Questions? Read the PDAT FAQs

All licences are a one-off payment for 12 months. No VAT added. Non-refundable once bought, except where a childminder registration can’t be confirmed.

Licences never renew automatically. Childminder and Single Setting licences include one named sign-in. Organisation licences are invoiced.

For organisations

For nursery groups, trusts and local authorities

With an Organisation licence, the organisation lead gets one page that brings together the PDAT results from every setting in the group.

Also for Stronger Practice Hubs, family hubs, academy trusts, school groups and other early years organisations.

  • Every setting’s scores side by side, across all five sections
  • Group strengths and areas for support
  • The top shared priorities, each with a quick win
  • Which settings have completed their audit, and which have not yet
  • A one-page PDF to share with managers, trustees or colleagues
  • Add settings and invite their staff from one place
Talk to us about an Organisation licence

Or email pdat@inspectorplay.com

Example Organisation overview page in PDAT for a made-up nursery group. It shows settings licensed and audited, the average score, and a colour-coded table of each setting’s scores across the five sections, with a group average row. Example data
The Organisation overview, shown with example data from a made-up nursery group.
The Building Blocks for an Active Start model: Relationships, Development, Environments and Participation around Culture & Leadership

The framework behind PDAT

Built on Building Blocks for an Active Start

Building Blocks for an Active Start sets out key principles for supporting movement and physical development in early childhood. Each is connected to the Physical, Social, Cognitive and Affective domains of physical literacy, from birth to school age.

Every PDAT statement links to a Building Blocks principle, and the recommendations bring them to life with practical examples for infants (0–1), toddlers (1–3) and pre-schoolers (3–5).

The framework was first developed through work Natalie and Helen carried out in 2025 with HENRY (Health, Exercise and Nutrition for the Really Young), a national early years organisation, which now uses it in its training materials. The work is aligned to Sport England’s definition of physical literacy.

Building Blocks for an Active Start complements the EYFS, Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters, and supports the physical development guidance settings already use.

PDAT and the Building Blocks framework © Weir & Battelley.

More about the framework

Additional services

Consultancy and training

Alongside PDAT, Dr Natalie Weir and Helen Battelley MA each offer consultancy, staff training, conference keynotes and workshops, and research and policy support on physical development and physical activity in early childhood.

They also often work together on projects, such as their 2025 work with HENRY (Health, Exercise and Nutrition for the Really Young), a national early years organisation.

Explore Natalie’s consultancy Work with Helen