🎓 Courses and learning platforms · 🏫 Classroom tools
Oak National Academy
By Oak National Academy Ltd (UK government arm's-length body). Visit Oak National Academy
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free library of lessons that follow England's national curriculum, from early years to GCSE. Teachers get slide decks, worksheets, quizzes and full curriculum plans. Pupils pick their school year and subject and watch video lessons with quizzes, no account needed. Oak also runs Aila, an AI lesson-planning assistant for teachers. Oak says its resources are used in 72% of schools in England.
Our take: Excellent for UK families and teachers, and useful for anyone wanting free structured lessons; US families following state standards may find it a poor fit.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 4 out of 5 | No ads or chat; a Sign in link and links to social media. |
|---|---|
| Data: 4 out of 5 | Only Cloudflare's privacy-light web analytics loaded. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | The home page is for teachers; pupils need the 'Go to pupils' link, and a cookie banner covers the bottom. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free; no upgrade prompt. |
What we found
- Contacted 2 outside sites: Cloudflare analytics and Cloudinary (images).
- 9 cookies set, all first-party.
- The header has a 'Go to pupils' link next to Sign in.
- The cookie banner offers 'Reject non-essential cookies'.
From the test: A free, low-tracking UK curriculum site; children use the pupils' side, which a grown-up can open for them.
| Ages it suits | about 4-16 (EYFS to Year 11) |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Pupil lessons need no sign-in and the terms set no age for them. The AI tools are for teachers only: the terms say every user must be over 18. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free (Oct 2026); most lessons published after September 2022 are under the Open Government Licence. |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | Aila, a teacher-only tool built on OpenAI's GPT models, drafts lesson plans, slides and quizzes; pupil lessons have no AI. |
What's good
- Free full curriculum with video lessons
- Pupils need no account
- Clear AI rules: Aila is adults only
- Openly licensed materials
Watch for
- Built for England's curriculum and exams
- Video-and-quiz format, little interaction
- Aila output still needs a teacher's check
- US grade names don't map one to one
Data and privacy
The privacy policy says Oak collects only what it needs, adds extra protections because many users are children, and has a child-friendly version. For the AI tools it uses OpenAI but says it sends no personal information and has opted out of OpenAI training. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
The maker's own claims only (for example, use in 72% of schools); no independent study of learning outcomes was found.
In the Big Index
- On the list Top 50 free learning sites for kids (2026)
- On the list 21 best homeschool resources online
Alternatives to Oak National Academy
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Worth a look for families who need school at home and have an adult free to coach; families expecting it to match a good local school should read the research first.
Where these facts come from
- https://www.thenational.academy/
- https://www.thenational.academy/pupils/years
- https://www.thenational.academy/legal/terms-and-conditions
- https://www.thenational.academy/legal/privacy-policy
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.