Kaitaa Primary School in Espoo to introduce large third-grade class with joint teaching
A third-grade class of 51 pupils will be formed at Kaitaa Primary School in Espoo for the upcoming academic year, Helsingin Sanomat reports. The class, consisting of all third-graders from the school’s Hyljelahti campus, will be taught by two teachers under a joint teaching model.
The school day will include one to two hours of joint lessons for the entire class, while the rest of the instruction will take place in smaller groups. Each pupil will have an assigned seat in the classroom, which features connecting doors and access to a separate small-group room (Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat).
Niko Kaukovalta, the school’s headmaster, emphasised that the arrangement is not a cost-saving measure but a way to better address students’ individual needs. Helsingin Sanomat (via Iltalehti) reports that in addition to the two class teachers, a special education teacher, an S2 (Finnish as a second language) teacher, and a school assistant will support the lessons. Kaukovalta noted that joint teaching allows for flexible division of responsibilities, which may reduce teachers’ workloads.
This is not the first time Kaitaa School has implemented joint teaching, and similar models have been tested in other schools across the Helsinki metropolitan area. The change aligns with a curriculum reform that took effect in August 2025 (Ilta-Sanomat). Kaukovalta stated that the approach makes instruction more diverse and less burdensome for educators.
