Then Ofsted's own annual report at the tail end of last month gave the tabloids another excuse to lay into the regulator. But it's time for a more grown-up debate about the role of regulation in improving the quality of early years services.
There are lessons that Ofsted will want to take away from this summer.
The regulator has already recognised the need to provide better information to parents. It will now be under pressure to deliver changes quickly.
Ultimately, Ofsted should aspire to provide all parents enquiring about using an early years service with a summary of an inspection report, together with details of childcare providers' complaints histories where they exist.
The BBC documentary also highlighted the need for more use of no-notice inspections. As Ofsted rightly stresses, malpractice is only found in a small minority of cases. But it is right that the inspection regime is strengthened to root out as many of these as possible.
And there may be a case for moving to a model of regulation and inspection based more on quality assurance that works with providers to continually raise standards rather than a top-down approach, which does not encourage much more than meeting basic requirements.
There is, however, a danger in placing all responsibility for the quality of early years services at Ofsted's door. In its annual report, the regulator pleads: "No regulatory system can ever guarantee that all children will be safe and well cared for all of the time." How true.
However thorough an inspection, however vigilant parents are in checking services, the safety of children ultimately lies in the hands of those working in early years settings. The training, status and morale of those employed in the early years sector have a much greater impact on the quality of settings than the inspection process.
It's time we stopped focusing on the regulation process as the principal means to improve the quality of early years services and started to consider what changes might be necessary to the childcare workforce.
