Good luck working out what to get. I find with tech the best way to do it is work out your budget then find the best device that fits the budget. My daughter has a Dell 11 inch Chromebook and it's been reliable. As a plus it feels quite solid and not flimsy/plasticy.
If the kids school uses the Google classroom system then a Chromebook is fantastic laptop for them as they can log into it with the school supplied Google account and the resources are there ready for them. Got my daughter one of the Dell 11 inch chromebooks a few years ago for about £200 and...