What Are School Health Services? Their Role, Duties and Importance School health services play an important role in monitoring and protecting students’ health at school. However, many families still don’t fully understand how this work affects their children’s learning and development, especially as problems such as short-sightedness and psychological pressure become increasingly common. This article explains the role and importance of school health services today. What are school health services? School health services are the set of activities that care for, protect and manage students’ health within the school environment. The concept goes beyond dealing with students who fall ill or have an accident; it also includes many preventive activities and long-term health monitoring. Under Joint Circular No. 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDĐT, school health services cover 4 main groups of duties: ensuring a hygienic learning environment, managing students’ health, preventing and controlling disease, and health education. This is the regulatory framework that currently applies to all levels of education in Vietnam, from kindergarten to upper secondary. School health services help create a safe learning environment and manage health risks It is also important to distinguish between school health services and student healthcare in general. Caring for students’ health is a shared responsibility between the family, the school and the community health system. School health services, by contrast, focus on the part of that responsibility the school takes on directly, to keep students safe and healthy throughout their time at school. The role and significance of school health services School health services are the team that directly monitors, supports and deals with health issues arising while students are at school. Their role goes beyond first aid or caring for students who are unwell. The team must also detect health problems early, handle emergencies and teach students healthy habits. Through regular health check-ups and physical monitoring, schools can detect problems such as short-sightedness, scoliosis or nutritional imbalances early and support appropriate intervention. In situations such as a high fever, an injury or an asthma attack, having medical staff on duty at school also means students can be treated quickly and kept safer while waiting for specialist help. Regular health check-ups help detect short-sightedness and scoliosis in students early This work also helps build students’ awareness of personal hygiene, nutrition and looking after their health. Habits formed at school can have a positive effect on students’ daily lives and long-term health. The importance of school health services The importance of health services at school is clear from the amount of time students spend there, the rising rates of school-related health conditions and the value of early prevention. For students on full-day (boarding-meal) schedules, time at school usually lasts around 8–9 hours a day – more than half of their waking hours during the week. This means that, for most of the day, students’ physical and mental health depends directly on the learning environment and the school’s health system. In addition, many school-related health problems are on the rise. According to a study by HCDC (Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control) in the 2023–2024 school year, around 54% of students in Ho Chi Minh City had refractive errors, 8% had scoliosis, and the rates of overweight and obesity were 22% and 20% respectively. These are all problems that develop over many years of schooling and need regular monitoring within the school environment. School health services also help reduce long-term treatment costs through regular check-ups, early detection and prevention guidance. This is also why the School Health Programme for 2021–2025 was rolled out as a national priority to improve the quality of student healthcare. For many families, knowing that their child’s health is properly monitored and supported at school also helps ease pressure on daily learning and family life. Health services at school support both students’ physical and mental health The duties of school health services under the regulations Under Article 9 of Joint Circular No. 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDĐT, school health services cover a range of duties relating to caring for, monitoring and protecting students’ health within the school environment. Of these, the four groups of duties below form the core and directly affect students’ daily lives. Schools must carry out all health duties in line with current Ministry of Health regulations School environmental hygiene Environmental hygiene includes controlling the water supply, toilets, the school kitchen and classroom conditions. Drinking water at school must meet the hygiene standards set by the Ministry of Health, and there must be enough toilets, fully supplied with soap and handwashing water. For schools providing lunch, the kitchen must comply with food safety regulations and keep food samples for 24 hours. In addition, classroom lighting and suitable desks and chairs directly affect common school-related conditions such as short-sightedness and scoliosis. Managing health records and student healthcare Every student needs an individual health record that is maintained throughout their time at school. Under the regulations, students must have a health check at least once a year, covering basic measures such as height, weight and eyesight. School health services are also responsible for first aid in situations such as fevers, falls or injuries while students are at school. At the same time, the school needs a clear procedure for contacting families and coordinating when a student needs to be transferred to hospital. Preventing disease and accidents at school Disease prevention focuses on controlling seasonal illnesses such as influenza, hand, foot and mouth disease, and dengue fever. The school health team works with local health authorities to carry out disease prevention and monitor students’ health. Besides disease, preventing accidents at school is another important duty. Situations such as falls at break time, injuries during PE or incidents in lunch areas all need to be dealt with promptly. That is why many schools now provide basic first-aid training for teachers as well as medical staff. Health education for students Health education helps students develop healthy habits through content on nutrition, personal hygiene and physical activity. This has a long-term impact because it directly shapes students’ awareness and behaviour in daily life. Alongside physical health, mental health is receiving more attention in schools. As a result, many international schools now offer school counselling services alongside the health team to better support students as they learn and grow. Health education helps students build healthy habits from an early age Qualifications and staffing arrangements for school medical staff Not every school has a dedicated medical staff member working on site. Current regulations allow several different arrangements, and this is something parents need to understand clearly before choosing a school. Minimum qualifications required by regulation Under Joint Circular 13/2016, school medical staff at kindergartens and schools must hold at least an intermediate-level (trung cấp) medical qualification. Staff must be trained in first aid and emergency care and receive regular professional updates. From 1 January 2025, the minimum qualification was raised to college level (cao đẳng) under Circular 03/2022/TT-BYT and Decree 96/2023/NĐ-CP. Specifically, public employees recruited into Grade IV nursing or assistant physician positions must hold a college degree. Those recruited before 2021 with an intermediate qualification must upgrade to college level before the deadline. This matters because it directly affects the quality of initial care when a student has an incident. A staff member with a college degree in nursing has more thorough training in advanced first aid, monitoring vital signs and coordinating with higher-level medical facilities. School health services go beyond first aid to include managing students’ health Three ways schools arrange medical staffing Under the regulations, schools have three options for medical staffing. Each option offers a different level of response when an incident occurs. Option one is a dedicated medical staff member working full time at the school. This is the ideal model because someone is always on duty during school hours. The school can respond within minutes when a student is ill or has an accident. Option two is a part-time (concurrent) medical role. A teacher or another staff member is given medical duties on top of their main job. This option is common in smaller schools or those with limited resources. Option three is a contract with an external health provider. The school signs a contract with a ward or commune health station, or a general clinic, to provide student healthcare. In this case, there is no medical staff member on duty at the school; someone only comes according to a schedule or when called. Differences between state, private and international schools The way school health services are delivered differs across these three groups of schools, even though they all follow the same legal framework. State schools often face difficulties with medical staffing quotas. Under Decree 56/2011/NĐ-CP and supplementary regulations, school medical staff at public institutions receive a professional incentive allowance of no more than 20% of their salary. The low allowance makes recruitment difficult for many schools, which then switch to contracting with the ward health station. Premium private schools usually have dedicated medical staff working full time. Some schools go beyond the legal requirements by recruiting nurses with university degrees and full medical practising certificates. International schools often apply two sets of standards at the same time. One is Vietnamese legal regulation. The other is the standard of the international education organisation they belong to – for example, the Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy of networks such as the International Schools Partnership (ISP) or the Council of International Schools (CIS). When both apply, schools usually follow whichever is stricter. Westlink – School health services and comprehensive student wellbeing At Westlink International School Hanoi, school health services are delivered in line with both Vietnamese regulations and the standards of the International Schools Partnership (ISP), a global network of international schools. This creates a student health management system that meets domestic legal requirements while also aiming to protect students’ safety and support their overall mental wellbeing in line with international education standards. Alongside meeting the requirements of Joint Circular 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDĐT, Westlink also applies ISP’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy, updated across the group in 2024. The policy is published so that parents can read it directly on the school’s website. Health services at Westlink are not limited to first aid or physical healthcare; they are also linked to student wellbeing within the IB and bilingual programmes. Students are supported in both their physical and mental health through coordination between the health team and the school counselling service on Westlink’s Tay Ho Tay campus. This approach means care for students continues seamlessly throughout everyday school life. Westlink delivers school health services in line with Vietnamese standards and the international ISP network Questions parents should ask about school health services when visiting a school When visiting schools, most parents focus on fees, the curriculum and the teaching staff. School health services are often overlooked until something happens. The ten questions below help you quickly assess the quality of a school’s health provision in a 15-minute conversation with the admissions team. Questions about medical staff Question 1: Does the school have a dedicated medical staff member working full time on site, or does it only contract an external health provider? The answer tells you whether the school can respond within minutes or has to wait for someone to arrive. For full-day schools, this is the most important difference. Question 2: What qualifications do the medical staff hold? A college or university degree in nursing? Do they have a medical practising certificate? Qualifications determine the scope of care that can be provided at school. Staff with a practising certificate can examine and treat students directly, while staff with only a professional qualification may only provide first aid. Question 3: Who covers when the medical staff member is on leave or outside working hours? A well-run school will have a clear back-up plan, so care is not interrupted when the main staff member is absent. Questions about facilities and procedures Question 4: Does the school’s medical room have a separate isolation area for students showing signs of an infectious illness? An isolation area is a basic requirement for preventing seasonal outbreaks. A school without one will have to send students home early when they show signs of fever or an infectious illness. Question 5: What equipment does the medical room have? Is there an automated external defibrillator (AED), an oxygen cylinder and specialist first-aid equipment? Under Joint Circular 13/2016, the medical room must have an examination bed, a medicine cabinet, an equipment cabinet and essential medicines for first aid and emergency care. Schools that also invest in an AED and oxygen show a higher level of readiness than the minimum standard. Question 6: When an accident happens, how many minutes does the school’s first-aid procedure take from discovery to completing initial treatment? This question measures practice, not theory. A well-run school has a clear procedure and can answer with a specific number of minutes. Question 7: Which hospital does the school have an agreement with for transfers when needed? The distance from the school to its partner hospital and the transfer procedure directly affect how quickly serious situations are handled. [Image caption] A few well-targeted questions can quickly reveal the quality of a school’s health services Questions about policy and transparency Question 8: What is the procedure for informing parents when a child is ill or has an accident? How quickly do parents receive the information? Parents have the right to be informed promptly and fully. A transparent school will have a clear procedure for when and how it contacts families. Question 9: Does the school monitor and manage specific conditions such as allergies, asthma, diabetes or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for each student? This is an important question for families whose children need special care. A well-run school will keep an individual record for each case and have a specific care plan. Question 10: Does the school have a publicly available Safeguarding Policy? Which organisation reviews or accredits it? A child protection policy is the framework for every interaction between school staff and students, not just in health matters. A transparent school will publish this policy on its website for parents to read. School health services are an important part of building a safe learning environment and supporting students’ long-term development. Beyond monitoring health, this work helps detect school-related problems early and supports students in their everyday learning. Book a tour of the Westlink campus to meet the health team in person and see the school’s medical room. Hotline: (+84) 865 777 900. Email: info@westlink.edu.vn
