A children's centre in Tooting has closed “for financial reasons” just weeks after Ofsted ruled safety was compromised.

The Furzedown Family Centre, based in the Upper Graveney School in Welham Road, was graded “inadequate” after an inspection on July 7, dropping two grades from good in 2011.

According to the report staff “do not have a clear understanding of safeguarding children”, some have an “insufficient knowledge of the signs and symptoms that would cause concern or the procedures to follow if they are worried about a child’s welfare”.

The report states: “Staff do not manage children’s behaviour consistently or effectively. Staff do not notice when children behaviour deteriorates.

“Outcomes for children are inadequate.

“At times, staff do not fully engage children or provide sufficient challenge to enable them to make good progress.”

Catherine Evans, a trustee for the centre, said: “The Ofsted report is extremely disappointing and highlights major shortcomings in the quality of the provision at the Furzedown Family Centre.

“The centre’s previous Ofsted rating was good. Sadly the centre has now closed for financial reasons.”

The report acknowledged that management and staff provide a welcoming environment, with a good range of resources.

To improve, staff needed to be taught about safeguarding procedures, including how to identify concerns, and manage children’s behaviour more consistently.

The report continues: “Although the manager [Barbara Vine] conducts individual meetings with staff, she does not monitor staff practice or evaluate the provision effectively to enable her to improve outcomes for children.

“The manager does not monitor children’s progress well enough to identify any gaps in children’s learning. Staff miss opportunities to extend children’s learning and are not always clear about what children need to learn next. They do not plan effectively to meet the needs of all children.

“Staff complete observations and assessments but do not use the information from these to determine the next steps in children’s learning or to effectively challenge children’s learning so that they make good progress from their starting points.”

The inspector, Lorraine Sparey, said there was one point during the inspection where children began to throw sand around in the sandpit and as this went unnoticed by staff, other children who had been playing lost interest.