The demands are outlined by Together for Children as manifesto pledges the coalition wants to see adopted by political parties ahead of December's general election.
The group wants to see all prisons for children, including young offender institutions and secure training centres (STCs), shut down.
It calls for politicians to "ensure children's contact with the criminal justice system is a last resort", and where this is necessary for their own safety and for the public's protection, this should be in council-run secure children's homes.
No child should be criminalised due to abuse or exploitation, adds the group, which also calls for the minimum age of criminal responsibility to be raised.
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