Preschools in Vietnam are expected to look after children’s basic health: daily observation, first aid, periodic health checks and growth measurement, and contact with parents when a child is unwell. School health staff do not replace your child’s doctor. They do not diagnose or treat illness, and they give medicine only under clear written instructions from parents, usually with a doctor’s prescription. Knowing how this works makes the system work for your child.
International parents often expect either a full nursing service, as in some private schools abroad, or nothing at all. The reality in most Saigon preschools sits between the two. This guide explains what school health care in Vietnam usually covers, how to send medicine safely, what to include in your child’s health information, how chronic conditions such as asthma or epilepsy can be managed with a plan, and the questions worth asking about first aid and emergencies.
What the rules expect from a preschool
School health work in Vietnam is set out in national regulation. A joint circular issued in 2016 by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Training, Circular 13/2016, describes health work in schools, including preschools. It covers health checks at the start of the school year, monitoring children’s health and growth, first aid, the conditions for a school health room, hygiene, food safety and coordination with local health services. Separately, a 2021 circular from the Ministry of Education and Training addresses safe schools and the prevention of accidents and injuries in preschools.
In practice, this usually means the school has a health room with basic equipment and a member of staff responsible for health, either a nurse or a trained health worker, sometimes shared across a campus. Children’s weight and height are measured periodically, more often for the youngest, and plotted on growth charts that many Vietnamese schools base on World Health Organization standards. Parents typically receive the results.
How this looks varies between schools, from a full-time nurse in a well-equipped room to a staff member with health duties alongside other work. Neither tells you everything about the school’s quality, but you should know which model your campus uses, who is present on each shift and what they are trained to do.
What school health staff usually do, and what they do not
Being clear about the role avoids frustration on both sides. A health worker who calls you about a fever is doing their job well, not passing a problem back.
- Observe children on arrival and during the day for signs of illness, and contact parents when a child seems unwell.
- Take a child’s temperature, give first aid for minor injuries and keep a child comfortable while waiting for a parent.
- Give medicine that parents have sent with written instructions, according to the school’s procedure.
- Run periodic health checks and growth measurements, and share the results with parents.
- Keep health records, including allergies and conditions, and make sure teachers know what they need to know.
- Support hygiene routines and respond to infectious disease cases, including cleaning and informing families.
- They do not usually diagnose illness, prescribe medicine, decide on antibiotics or replace a visit to a doctor.
If a health worker says your child should see a doctor, that is a recommendation, not a diagnosis. Follow it up, and share what the doctor says with the school so they know how to support your child in the following days.
Language can be a hidden gap. Health staff may be more comfortable in Vietnamese, and a phone call about symptoms is exactly the kind of conversation where small misunderstandings matter. Ask whether an English-speaking staff member can join such calls, or whether the school can send the key facts in writing through the parent app, so you have the temperature, times and observations in front of you when you speak to a doctor.
Sending medicine to school safely
Many families never need to send medicine, but a course of antibiotics, an asthma inhaler or a cream for eczema are common reasons. Schools usually have a log in which parents record medicine and instructions, and a careful process protects your child from missed or double doses.
- Ask your doctor whether doses can be timed outside school hours. Many medicines prescribed two or three times a day can be given at home in the morning, after school and at bedtime.
- If a dose is needed during the day, send the medicine in its original packaging with the pharmacy information, your child’s name and the prescription if the school requires it.
- Write clear instructions in the school’s log or form: the name of the medicine, the dose, the time, how to give it and any side effects to watch for. If possible, write them in Vietnamese as well as English.
- Hand the medicine to a staff member in person rather than leaving it in your child’s bag, where another child could find it.
- Ask how the dose given will be recorded and how you will be told, for example through the parent app.
- Collect the medicine at the end of the course and do not leave old medicine at school.
Do not send over-the-counter medicines, herbal remedies or supplements without discussing them with the school first. Many schools will not give any product without a doctor’s instruction, and they are right to be cautious, since mixing medicines can be harmful for small children.
What to include in your child’s health information
Most schools ask for a health form on enrolment. Treat it as a working document rather than a formality, and update it when anything changes. A clear, short summary in both languages is more useful than a thick file.
| Information | Why it matters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allergies, with type of reaction | Allows the kitchen and staff to avoid triggers and respond to a reaction | Attach the doctor’s allergy action plan if your child has one |
| Long-term conditions | Asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, heart conditions and others need a plan | Include the plan and emergency medicine details |
| Regular medicines | Staff need to know what your child takes, even if given at home | Note any side effects, such as drowsiness |
| Vaccination record | Schools may check it on enrolment and during outbreaks | Keep a translated copy; ask a vaccination clinic about the local schedule |
| Doctor and preferred clinic | Helps staff and parents act quickly in an emergency | Include the clinic name and your insurance details if relevant |
| Development or support needs | Helps teachers adapt the day | Share reports you are comfortable sharing, with context |
Ask who will see this information and how it is stored. Health details are sensitive, and parents have a right to know that they reach the teachers who need them without being shared more widely.
Chronic conditions: making a plan that works
Start with your child’s doctor. For conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes or a heart condition, ask the doctor for a short written care plan: daily needs, warning signs, what to do in an emergency and when to call an ambulance.
Meet the people who will use it. Go through the plan with the class teacher and the health staff together. Show them any device, such as an inhaler with a spacer, and how your child uses it. A demonstration is worth more than a page of instructions.
Cover the whole day. Think about nap time, outdoor play in heat, swimming or water play, outings and the bus. A child with asthma may need an inhaler on an outing; a child with epilepsy may need extra supervision near water.
Agree on communication. Decide how the school will tell you about symptoms or medicine given, and how you will tell them about changes in treatment or a bad night at home that might affect the day.
Plan for the climate and the city. Heat, humidity, haze on some dry-season days and the long rainy season can all affect conditions such as asthma and eczema. Ask your doctor whether your child’s plan needs adjusting for Saigon, and tell the school which conditions tend to bring on symptoms, so that teachers can, for example, keep a child with asthma indoors on a hazy morning.
Keep spares and check dates. Leave a spare inhaler or emergency medicine at school if your doctor agrees, separate from the one that travels with your child. Note expiry dates on your phone, and replace medicine that has been stored in a hot place, since heat can affect some products.
Health checks during the year: what to expect
Many preschools in Vietnam organise a health check at the start of the school year, sometimes with a visiting doctor or the local health station, as well as regular growth measurements. For international families this can be the first contact with the Vietnamese health system, and it helps to know what it usually involves and what it does not.
A typical check looks at general health, growth, eyes, ears, teeth, skin and sometimes development, and the school then shares a summary with parents. It is a screening, not a full medical examination. A child who passes the check may still need their own doctor for a specific concern, and a child flagged for something, such as a dental problem or low weight for age, should be seen by a doctor or dentist who can look properly before anyone draws conclusions.
Results may come home in Vietnamese and use local terms for growth categories. If anything is unclear, ask the school health staff to explain, or take the summary to your child’s doctor. Keep copies together with your child’s other health records, since they build a useful picture over time, and they are helpful if you move schools or countries later.
If you prefer your child not to take part in a particular part of a check, or if your own doctor has recently done the same examination, tell the school beforehand and ask whether you can provide a recent report instead.
First aid, emergencies and the limits of school care
Ask which staff are trained in first aid for young children, how recently, and whether training covers choking, which is one of the most urgent emergencies in early childhood. Ask where the first aid kit is kept, whether one goes on outings and how the school records injuries and informs parents. A school that keeps an injury log and tells parents the same day, even for small bumps, is showing a healthy culture of openness.
Ask, too, what the school does in a medical emergency. Who calls the ambulance, who calls the parents, who goes with the child, and to which hospital? In a city with heavy traffic, the school may sometimes decide to take a child to a nearby hospital by car rather than wait. You should know which hospital it would usually choose and agree that in advance with your own preferences if you have them, for example a clinic that holds your child’s records or accepts your insurance.
Finally, keep the school’s contact list up to date. The best emergency plan fails if the numbers on file belong to a phone you changed when you arrived in Vietnam. Check them at the start of each term and whenever you travel.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Will the school give my child paracetamol if they get a fever?
Policies differ. Some schools give fever medicine only with prior written consent from parents and call you at the same time; others call parents first and give nothing. Ask your campus, and if you agree to a standing permission, make sure it states the medicine and the dose for your child’s weight.
Does every preschool in Vietnam have a nurse?
Regulations expect schools to organise health work and have someone responsible for it, but the form varies. Some schools employ a full-time nurse, others have a trained staff member with health duties or share health staff between sites. Ask which model your campus uses and who covers each shift.
Can the school give my child antibiotics?
Schools may give a prescribed antibiotic if parents send it with clear written instructions, but many doctors can arrange doses outside school hours. Schools should not give antibiotics without a prescription, and parents should avoid buying them without a doctor’s advice, even where pharmacies sell them.
What happens to my child’s growth measurements?
Schools usually measure weight and height periodically and record them on growth charts. Ask to see your child’s chart and whether the school uses World Health Organization standards. If the school flags a concern, discuss it with your doctor, who can look at the measurements in context.
Should I tell the school about a minor condition such as eczema?
Yes. Eczema can affect how your child reacts to sand, water, heat and certain soaps, and teachers who know about it can help, for example by applying a cream you send or rinsing your child after water play. Minor conditions are easier to manage when everyone knows about them.
Who decides whether my child goes to hospital in an emergency?
In an emergency, school staff will call an ambulance and parents according to their procedure, and the paramedics or doctors then make medical decisions. Ask in advance which hospital the school would usually use and share your own preferences so that the school can follow them when possible.