SAFETY standards at a nursery in South Norwood have been criticised by Ofsted after a child went missing.
A child was able to leave Selhurst Children's Centre Nursery unsupervised and was later found outside in the street.
The education watchdog said staff failings meant children were not safe when they arrived in the morning or at home time.
It added that the nursery was not doing enough to stop the building being accessed by unauthorised visitors.
As a result it has been rated as "inadequate" and told to make urgent improvements.
Council-run Selhurst Children's Centre, in Dagnall Park, South Norwood, has 99 children on roll at its nursery, who are looked after by a team of 17 staff.
According to a complaint published on the inspectorate's website, the nursery informed Ofsted on September 30 last year that a child had gone missing.
Its report into the incident, published this week, said due to staff failings a child was able to leave the children's centre unsupervised and was found outside on the street.
After being alerted, Ofsted carried out an inspection to see whether the nursery was meeting safeguarding standards.
It found arrival and departure times remained "poorly managed" by staff.
"This is because they become very busy as many parents and children arrive at the same time, crowding the foyer," the report said.
"Parents and staff spend a considerable time looking for children's coats which adds to the chaos. Staff attention is taken away from security."
While some measures have been introduced to improve security since the incident, including security gates, Ofsted noticed further problems, including the potential for strangers to access the building unchallenged.
"There is poor supervision of visitors entering the building, which is a risk to all children an adults in the centre," the report said.
For example, on the day of the Ofsted visit, the inspector was admitted through the new security gates and the main door by parents who did not ask who she was.
"This is because staff do not ensure everyone is aware of the risks in allowing unknown persons onto the premises," the inspector wrote.
"Although staff are deployed to monitor department times, they become distracted with other matters.
"Consequently, staff do not supervise children adequately at this time."
Aside from safety concerns, Ofsted praised the "good" quality of teaching and use of challenging activities that helped children to make progress.
But it handed the nursery its lowest possible rating and said more must be done to ensure children are safe.
The nursery's manager and Croydon Council, which runs the children's centre, have yet to comment on the report.
