An audit by the Howard League for Penal Reform analysed all recent reports into young offenders' institutions (YOIs) by Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Prisons.
The audit claims children are regularly denied access to showers, toilets or outside exercise areas, and are subject to strip searches by adult staff.
Meanwhile it asserts that many institutions fail to properly undertake required assessments, plans and reviews.
Publication of the audit follows an inspection report earlier this month into Cookham Wood, which found that the prison was "seriously unsafe", with children hiding in their cells because they feared being attacked or becoming involved in fights.
Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, said: "We keep children smelly and dirty, idle and frightened, bored with education and cooped up in modern day dungeons. And we expect them miraculously to pupate into responsible citizens.
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