The practice was uncovered by inspectors during a focused visit to Oldham children's services in March, looking into their initial response to child protection concerns.
Inspectors said the screening visits are being carried out outside of the formal single assessment process, meaning that families are being assessed without their knowledge and without rights to read, comment or have their views recorded.
Ofsted said that there was no clear reason for the visits, which in some instances led to cases being delayed.
Oldham Council has pledged to review the use of the screening visits on the back of Ofsted's concerns.
"The local authority explained that these visits are an assessment," states a letter outlining Ofsted's findings to the council.
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