The education and mental health of young adult offenders are being affected by frequent moves between prisons, exclusive research for Community Care has found.

The Prison Reform Trust study, commissioned for our Back on Track campaign, questioned independent monitoring boards (IMBs), which evaluate prison conditions, about establishments that hold 18 to 20 year olds.

Half of the IMBs outlined problems caused by the upheaval - or "churn" - of offenders being switched to other prisons to make space for new arrivals.

"If 15 come in from the courts we will have to ship out 15," said Brinsford IMB in its response.

"Moving people on like this has become a fact of life and we have learned to manage it. When the boys arrive they are often bewildered and don't know where they are."

In her inspection report on Lancaster Farms Young Offender Institution, chief prisons inspector Anne Owers highlighted that between October last year and January, 303 young adults had been transferred to other establishments.

One IMB member described a young man who had spent time in five different establishments in fewer than six months.

"Movement on this scale severely disrupts an older teenager's development," said Enver Solomon, the author of the research.

He added that constant change such as this could damage young people who may have spent unsettled periods of their lives in care or living away from home.

Two thirds of young adults reported that being moved to another prison had made it difficult for them to keep in contact with their families.

A Home Office spokesperson acknowledged that population pressures were affecting offending behaviour work in prisons and the distance offenders were held from home. However, she said the department "refuted" allegations that it was failing to meet the needs of young offenders.

Extra funding for education in YOIs had been provided and the Prison Service was working hard to ensure offenders had the training and skills to help them rehabilitate, she added.