Every school year adds new apps to the list, and every one promises to save time. In a primary school the test is stricter than anywhere else: can a five-year-old use it alone, does it follow what your curriculum asks, and does the teacher get time back instead of another login to manage?
This guide sorts the tools that are worth considering for ages 4 to 12 into seven categories. For each one we say what it is best for and what to check before you commit. We describe other companies' products only in general terms; prices and features change, so check each provider's own site before you decide.
Disclosure: Samio for Schools is our own product. It appears in one category, with the same kind of description as the others.
How we picked
We looked at each tool through the eyes of a primary-school teacher and an ICT coordinator:
- Age fit: young children can use it with little or no help.
- Curriculum fit: the content, or the planning, follows what your country's curriculum asks.
- Teacher time: setup and weekly upkeep are realistic for a busy teacher.
- Privacy: clear data handling, a data processing agreement and no advertising aimed at children.
- Devices: it works on what schools actually have, such as Chromebooks, laptops and iPads.
- Languages: it works in the language of the class, and ideally in the languages of the families.
At a glance
| Category | Tools in this guide |
|---|---|
| Class platforms and learning management | Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams for Education, Seesaw |
| Practice and adaptive learning | Samio for Schools, Snappet, Khan Academy Kids, Khan Academy |
| Quizzes and whole-class games | Kahoot!, Plickers |
| Reading | Epic, Book Creator, Microsoft Reading Progress and Reading Coach |
| Communication with families | ClassDojo, Google Classroom guardian summaries |
| Accessibility and inclusion | Microsoft Immersive Reader, Built-in device features |
| AI assistants for teachers | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, Samio for Schools in your AI assistant |
Comparison chart: what each tool does
The main tools in this guide side by side, by the jobs a primary school needs done. The chart sums up the descriptions in this guide; it is not a test of every plan, and features change, so check the current version before you decide.
| Tool | Assign class work | Practice content | Quizzes | Reading | Families | Made for primary age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samio for Schoolsour product | partly, or with add-ons | main job | main job | main job | not what it is for | main job |
| Google Classroom | main job | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons | not what it is for |
| Microsoft Teams for Education | main job | partly, or with add-ons | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons | not what it is for | not what it is for |
| Seesaw | partly, or with add-ons | not what it is for | not what it is for | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons | main job |
| Snappet | partly, or with add-ons | main job | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons | not what it is for | main job |
| Khan Academy Kids | partly, or with add-ons | main job | not what it is for | main job | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons |
| Khan Academy | partly, or with add-ons | main job | not what it is for | not what it is for | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons |
| Kahoot! | not what it is for | not what it is for | main job | not what it is for | not what it is for | not what it is for |
| Plickers | not what it is for | not what it is for | main job | not what it is for | not what it is for | partly, or with add-ons |
| Epic | not what it is for | not what it is for | not what it is for | main job | not what it is for | main job |
| ClassDojo | not what it is for | not what it is for | not what it is for | not what it is for | main job | main job |
● main job · ◐ partly, or with add-ons · – not what it is for
1. Class platforms and learning management
This is the hub: where assignments, files and class announcements live. Most schools already have one through Google or Microsoft, and the best choice is usually the one your school's accounts already run on.
Google Classroom
Best for: Schools on Google Workspace and Chromebooks
Assignments, feedback, announcements and a class stream, closely linked to Docs, Slides, Forms and Drive. It is part of Google Workspace for Education, whose Fundamentals edition is free for qualifying schools. Guardians can receive email summaries of their child's work. It organises learning; the practice content comes from the teacher or from apps you add.
Microsoft Teams for Education
Best for: Schools on Microsoft 365
Classes, assignments, the OneNote Class Notebook and video meetings in one place, included with Microsoft 365 Education. Learning Accelerators such as Reading Progress add practice on top. It is powerful, but busy for the youngest children, so many primary teachers use it mainly on their own side.
Seesaw
Best for: Learning portfolios for the youngest children
Children show their work with photos, drawings, voice recordings and video in a digital journal, even before they can write much, and families can follow along. Strong for documenting learning in the early years; less focused on structured practice across the curriculum.
What to check: Can five-year-olds sign in on their own? Can you connect the other tools you use, for example through LTI 1.3, Google Classroom or single sign-on?
2. Practice and adaptive learning
This is where children actually practise maths and reading at their own level, and where the teacher sees who needs help. It is the category with the most influence on learning time, and the one where age fit matters most.
Samio for Schools
Best for: Curriculum-aligned practice and planning for ages 4 to 12, in seven languages
A teacher dashboard and a student app built only for primary school. Maths and reading are aligned with your country's curriculum standards. Students join with a class code, find their name and tap it: no student accounts or passwords, and teachers approve each device. Teachers assign timed quizzes or practice with their own difficulty, passing score and deadline, and progress is tracked automatically. Sam explains every exercise out loud, picture questions let pre-readers take part, and curriculum-grounded planning creates plans, lessons and materials. It runs in the browser and on iPad and iPhone.
Snappet
Best for: Adaptive maths lessons and practice as a complete method
A Dutch-born platform for primary schools, with versions for the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain and an international English site. Its core is a maths method: the teacher gives the lesson, children practise on a device and, after the first exercises, continue adaptively at their own level, while the dashboard shows the teacher how the class is doing. Testing is built into the daily work, and Snappet describes its curricula as standards-aligned. Next to the maths method there is supplementary practice, including language and spelling in some countries. It replaces a maths textbook rather than sitting next to one, so it is a bigger decision than adding an app.
Khan Academy Kids
Best for: Free early learning for ages 2 to 8
From the nonprofit Khan Academy: reading, maths and social-emotional activities for young children, free and without ads, with tools for teachers to assign activities. Check whether it is available in your teaching language.
Khan Academy
Best for: Free maths practice for the upper primary years and beyond
Free exercises, videos and teacher assignments, strongest in maths from the later primary years onwards. It is available in many languages, though the depth of content differs per language.
What to check: Does the content follow your curriculum, in your language? Can a child who cannot read yet use it alone? Do you see results per child without extra marking?
3. Quizzes and whole-class games
Short, lively checks at the start or end of a lesson tell a teacher in two minutes whether the class got it. The tools differ mainly in how many devices they need.
Kahoot!
Best for: Energetic whole-class quizzes
Questions on the board, children answer on devices against the clock, with a large library of ready-made quizzes and a free basic plan next to paid plans. Great for revision; the speed element can put off slower readers, so mix it with untimed practice.
Plickers
Best for: Quick checks without student devices
Each child holds up a printed card; the teacher scans the room with one phone or tablet and sees every answer. Ideal for classes with few devices or for very young children.
What to check: Does it work with the devices you have? Can you see results per child afterwards, and not only who won?
4. Reading
Reading needs two things: lots of books at the right level and lots of practice reading aloud. Digital tools help with both, but they work best next to a real school library, not instead of it.
Epic
Best for: A large digital library for children under 12
Thousands of children's books, audiobooks and read-to-me titles, with a classroom version for teachers. The collection is mostly in English.
Book Creator
Best for: Children writing and publishing their own books
Children combine text, drawings, photos and their own voice into books they can share. A good way to turn reading into writing.
Microsoft Reading Progress and Reading Coach
Best for: Reading-aloud practice in Microsoft schools
Children record themselves reading aloud and the tools help the teacher review accuracy and pick out words to practise. Part of Microsoft's Learning Accelerators for Microsoft 365 Education schools.
What to check: Is there enough content in your teaching language? Does it support children who are only just starting to read?
5. Communication with families
Parents want to know what happens in class without a flood of messages. One clear channel works better than three half-used ones.
ClassDojo
Best for: Class stories, messages and a positive class culture
Teachers share photos and updates, message families with built-in translation and can give feedback points for behaviour. Widely used in primary schools; it is a communication and class-culture tool rather than a source of learning content.
Google Classroom guardian summaries
Best for: Schools that want no extra app
Guardians can receive daily or weekly email summaries of upcoming and missing work. Simple and one-way, which is sometimes exactly enough.
What to check: Can messages be translated for families who speak another language? Who owns the data, and is there a data processing agreement?
6. Accessibility and inclusion
The best accessibility tools are often already on your devices. Switch them on before you buy anything new.
Microsoft Immersive Reader
Best for: Read-aloud and reading support across many apps
Reads text aloud with highlighting, splits words into syllables and offers a picture dictionary, line focus and translation. Free, built into Microsoft apps and available in many other tools.
Built-in device features
Best for: Support that costs nothing extra
iPad has Speak Screen and Guided Access, which keeps a child in one app; Chromebooks have Select-to-speak and a built-in screen reader. Worth setting up for every class.
What to check: Can children hear instructions read aloud? In Samio for Schools, for example, Sam explains every exercise out loud and picture questions need no reading. Can a child stay in one app without wandering off?
7. AI assistants for teachers
General AI assistants have become useful for teachers' preparation: drafting a letter to parents, adapting a text for different levels, brainstorming a lesson. They are tools for the teacher, not for the children; most general-purpose assistants set a minimum age of 13 or higher.
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot
Best for: Drafting, differentiating and brainstorming
Each has education offerings, and your school may already have one through Google or Microsoft. Their weak point is the curriculum: asked what your national curriculum expects of an eight-year-old, they answer from memory and can sound confident while being wrong. Never paste pupils' names or results into them.
Samio for Schools in your AI assistant
Best for: Grounding the assistant in real curriculum standards
Connect Claude or ChatGPT to the Samio MCP server as a custom connector and the assistant reads curriculum standards for 50 countries (56 curricula) instead of guessing. With a Samio for Schools account connected it can also create topic plans, teaching materials and challenges in your classes. Challenges arrive as drafts, and no student data crosses the connector. Listings in the assistants' directories are being prepared.
What to check: Does the tool keep pupil data out? Can you see where an answer comes from?
A simple stack for a primary school
If you are starting from scratch, or tidying up, this combination covers what most primary schools need:
- One hub: Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams or the learning platform you already have.
- One practice platform with curriculum-aligned content and results per child, such as Samio for Schools.
- One channel for families.
- The accessibility features already on your devices, switched on.
- Optionally, an AI assistant for teachers, with clear rules about pupil data.
Fewer tools, used well, beat a long list. Every extra login costs minutes in a lesson for six-year-olds, and every extra supplier is another agreement to check.
Before you buy: six questions
Ask every supplier the same questions, including us:
- Is there a data processing agreement, and where is pupil data stored?
- Can the youngest children use it without an email address or password?
- Does it follow the curriculum of your country, in your language?
- How long does setup take, and how much time does it ask of a teacher each week?
- Does it run on the devices you already have?
- Can you export your data and leave easily if it does not work out?
Product names are trademarks of their owners. Features, prices and availability of other companies' tools change often; check each provider's website for the current details. We name no prices for other tools for that reason.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best free tools for primary schools?
Several strong tools cost nothing extra: Google Classroom comes with Google Workspace for Education (the Fundamentals edition is free for qualifying schools), Microsoft Teams with Microsoft 365 Education, Khan Academy and Khan Academy Kids are free, and Immersive Reader and the accessibility features on iPads and Chromebooks are free. Check whether the content fits your curriculum and language.
Does a primary school need a learning management system?
Most schools benefit from one hub for assignments and communication, usually Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams or the platform they already have. But young children mainly need practice at their own level and a teacher who sees who is stuck, which is what practice platforms such as Samio for Schools add next to the hub.
Can young children use AI tools at school?
General assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are tools for teachers; most set a minimum age of 13 or higher. For children, use tools built for their age, and keep pupils' names and results out of general AI assistants.
Where does Samio for Schools fit in this list?
In the practice and adaptive learning category: a teacher dashboard and a student app for ages 4 to 12, with maths and reading aligned with your country's curriculum standards. It sits next to your class platform rather than replacing it, and on the School plan it connects to LTI 1.3 platforms and Google Classroom.