The Inspire Schools

The Vietnamese school tackling stress and anxiety by placing wellbeing at the nexus of technology and human connection

The Inspire Schools, an independent primary and secondary school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is nurturing the comprehensive development of its students by putting emotional resilience at the centre of its ‘High Tech – High Touch’ pedagogical model that blends digital innovation with human connection to prioritise learner and teacher wellbeing and mental health. As technology became more embedded in learning in Vietnam, particularly after the pandemic, many students were increasingly connected online but experienced growing emotional isolation with little or no support to handle pressure and change, exposing a divide between digital progress and wellbeing.

Founded in 2019, the school’s initial focus was on equipping students for digital transformation with future-ready skills. However, after noticing a shift in student behaviour, particularly their wellbeing, during the pandemic, leaders decided to strategically pivot to meet the growing crisis of anxiety, social disconnection and lack of emotional resilience.

The school’s reimagined ‘High Tech – High Touch’ model puts mental health first. It uses digital tools to improve learning, but also makes sure that strong relationships and emotional growth are at the heart of everything. This way, new technology is balanced with support for students’ mental and emotional needs.

Held together by its ‘Seeds of Love’ framework, a multi-phased initiative that builds wellbeing through a staged, community-wide process, the school has moved away from a traditional environment where emotions are often suppressed in favour of discipline. Within this structure lies ‘Seeds for Ourselves’, which includes digital mindfulness tools that teach students to name and map their daily emotions, helping them identify how they’re feeling and learn to self-regulate. ‘Seeds for Others’ is a secret planter project where every student and teacher becomes a ‘planter’ for someone else that provides silent support, notes of affirmation, and small acts of service, while ‘Seeds for Community’ sees learners visiting shelters and vulnerable groups where they share their learning on emotional intelligence with the public. This stage of the model helps students find their ‘Ikigai’ - their reason for being. As students progress, wellbeing radiates outward, starting with personal self-care and moving to collective social responsibility.

Wellbeing is supported at all touchpoints, and students can access the school psychology resources, while ‘peace corners’ that offer safe, reflective spaces have been set up throughout the school. Digital behaviour is also addressed through projects that teach learners that mental health is influenced by online environments as much as physical ones.

This wellbeing-led approach has led to 92% of students feeling emotionally safe and supported, a significant increase from previous years, while classroom conflict has decreased by 40%. Student engagement in complex subjects and projects has increased by 25%, and participation in wellbeing initiatives has reached 95%, showing strong adoption across the entire school community. The secret planter initiative generated over 5000 acts of kindness and peer affirmations in a single semester.

Also supported through wellbeing initiatives and professional development, many teachers have moved from being instructors into mentorship roles, creating a more stable and personal learning environment.

As recognition of its approach grows, The Inspire Schools has been named Vietnam’s first Google Reference School and is working with the Ministry of Education to support other schools in integrating technology and wellbeing more effectively.