TERMS OF REFERENCE
Consultancy service for Advanced Training on Comprehensive Sexual Education for School
Counsellors and Health Workers for primary and secondary schools
Project: “Advancing ethnic minority gender-responsive learning and school environments in Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau”
Location: Ha Noi with travel to Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau provinces Duration: 27 October 2025 to the end of January 2026
1. About Plan International Vietnam
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.
For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries. We won’t stop until we are all equal. Plan International has been working in northern and central Vietnam since 1993. Our work supports marginalized children and youth, especially adolescent girls, to start life and grow up physically and mentally healthy and as adolescents so they are leading the way to shape their own future. We believe girls have the power to change the world. Our ambition is to work alongside them and together take action so that 2 million girls in Vietnam can learn, lead, decide and thrive by 2027.
2. Project Background and Objectives
Despite Vietnam’s notable progress to increase access to education to remote and mountainous regions such as Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang through applying more flexible schooling arrangement through boarding and satellite schools, the quality of education in these remote area schools is still below national standards. Factors such as inadequate school facilities, qualified teachers, safety, child protection measures and inclusive learning environments for EM students contribute to these education quality gaps in Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang provinces. A lack of capacity of local teachers and language barriers among Kinh teachers also contributes to marginalized school learning environments in these disadvantaged provinces.
This is a significant barrier to the successful roll-out of MoET (Ministry of Education and Trainings)’s revised 2018 General Education Program, that not only includes the delivery of national curriculums through new teaching methodologies, but also extra-curricular topics such as sexual reproductive health and rights. In a region that is subject to the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy, child early and forced marriage (CEFM) and drop-out of school in the country, effective delivery of GenderResponsive, Inclusive and learner-centered approach is critical in terms of improved quality of learning and integrated Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in education system.
Based on the situation analysis, Plan International Vietnam and Plan International Japan have proposed the project: “Advancing ethnic minority gender-responsive learning and school environments in Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau” from 2025 to 2027. The project is funded by MOFA Japan.
Objectives
The overarching objective is to enable ethnic minority students in primary and secondary schools in Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang provinces to learn in gender-responsive study environments and actualize their sexual reproductive health. To do this, the project is further split into three interlinked and mutually reinforcing strands:
Specific Objective 1 IMPROVE THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING DORMITORIES, SO THAT CHILDREN CAN LEARN IN A SAFE, GENDER- AND DISABILITY-RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENT
- Output 1.1 All children in 3 primary schools and 3 secondary schools can safely stay at boarding facilities, which are newly constructed or repaired.
- Output 1.2 All children in 5 primary schools and 5 secondary schools can receive appropriate counselling and learn about sexual reproductive health and rights at the repaired counselling rooms and health corners.
Specific Objective 2 STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITY OF TEACHERS IN 13 PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND 13 SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO DELIVER STUDENT-CENTRED AND INCLUSIVE SEX EDUCATION FROM A GENDER AND DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE
- Output 2.1 The children in target schools receive a gender and disability responsive studentcentered education and comprehensive sex education by the teachers with strengthened capacity.
- Output 2.2 The teachers and parents / caregivers raise awareness and implement quality comprehensive sexual education for students.
Specific Objective 3 STUDENT-LED LEARNING AND DISSEMINATION TO HELP ETHNIC MINORITY CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THEIR SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS AND PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM HARMFUL PRACTICES, INCLUDING CHILD EARLY FORCED MARRIAGE AND PREGNANCY
- Output 3.1 The children can lead capacity building and awareness-raising events for ethnic minority children to learn independently about sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- Output 3.2 The children can disseminate correct knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights to stakeholders and raise awareness of child early forced marriage and pregnancy.
3 STUDENT-LED LEARNING AND DISSEMINATION TO HELP ETHNIC MINORITY CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THEIR SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS AND PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM HARMFUL PRACTICES, INCLUDING CHILD EARLY FORCED MARRIAGE AND PREGNANCY
- Output 3.1 The children can lead capacity building and awareness-raising events for ethnic minority children to learn independently about sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- Output 3.2 The children can disseminate correct knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights to stakeholders and raise awareness of child early forced marriage and pregnancy.
3. Purpose of the Consultancy
3.1 Purpose:
The hired consultant/ team is expected to:
- Design and deliver advanced training sessions on Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) for targeted primary and secondary school counsellors and health workers, ensuring accurate knowledge of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).
- Strengthen the capacity and skills of school counsellors and health workers in providing gender-responsive counselling and creating safe, supportive environments where ethnic minority (EM) children and adolescents can discuss sensitive SRHR issues such as early marriage and pregnancy.
- Build the capacity of school counsellors and health workers to play an active role in communitybased child protection mechanisms and to facilitate peer learning and experience sharing across training years.
3.2 Scope of work:
a. Design the advanced training sessions on counselling related to CSE
- Review the latest government requirements of the school counsellors and social worker at school level and the relevant technical materials that Plan International Vietnam has developed.
- Conduct a desk review of Plan’s reports and interviews with school counselors, principals, and other stakeholders to provide practical recommendations to make a school counselling room more inviting, safe, and child friendly. Propose practical repair and design solutions (e.g., painting, furniture arrangement, decoration) and measures to encourage student use by addressing stigma and taboos. Strategies may include introducing playful or interactive elements (games, toys, learning materials) and creating posters or handouts that make the rooms more welcoming, approachable, and safe for students.
b. Training Preparation, Delivery, and Reporting in both English and Vietnamese
- Prepare a training plan (agenda, slides, handouts, case studies, pre-/post-test instruments, and practical recommendations on setting up safe and accessible counselling spaces) for the two training courses for school counsellors and health workers in English. After the review by Plan International, prepare them in Vietnamese.
- Conduct two 2-day advanced training courses for school counsellors (teachers who are in charge of school counselling), health workers and other teachers in each of Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau Provinces (Activity 2.1.6).
- Produce training reports for each training course, including participant feedback, lessons learned, the results of pre-/post-test and recommendations for follow-up action in English. After the review by Plan International, prepare them in Vietnamese.
3.3 Geographical coverage
The consultancy will be conducted in Hanoi with travels to Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau provinces to conduct 2 training courses in each province for primary and secondary school counsellors and health workers
4. Users of the Consultancy
The intended users of this data are the project’s beneficiaries (including teachers and students), Plan International Japan, Plan International Viet Nam, project stakeholders, and relevant partners.
Dissemination:
The manual will be printed and deliveried to project beneficiaries and project stakeholders. The materials will also be shared among PIV projects and relevant partners for future reference.
5. Ethics and Child Protection
PIV is committed to ensuring that the rights of those participating in data collection or analysis are respected and protected, in accordance with Ethical MERL Framework and our Global Policy on Safeguarding Children and Young People. All applicants should include details in their proposal on how they will ensure ethics and child protection in the data collection process. Specifically, the consultant(s) shall explain how appropriate, safe, non-discriminatory participation of all stakeholders will be ensured and how special attention will be paid to the needs of children and other vulnerable groups. The consultant(s) shall also explain how confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed.
A risk assessment will be conducted by the safeguarding focal points and the consultant team before implementing the consultancy to mitigate foreseen risks for children, youths and participants in the survey
Level of Contact with Children:
Medium level: Interaction with children in consultations are not required. The consultant must comply with Plan’s child protection policy and standards throughout the research process
6. Key Deliverables
The consultants/ experts are expected to provide the following key deliverables:
- Training plan consolidates agenda, slides, handouts, case studies, pre-/post-test instruments, and practical recommendations on setting up safe and accessible counselling spaces (studentfriendly communication and reducing stigma around counselling. (in English and Vietnamese)
- Delivery of two 2-day advanced training courses in Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau Provinces for school counsellors (Teachers who are in charge of school counselling), health workers and other teachers.
- Detailed Training Reports for each training course, including participant feedback, lessons learned, the results of pre-/post-test and recommendations for follow-up action in English. After the review by Plan International, prepare them in Vietnamese (in English and Vietnamese)
7. Timeline and Estimated Working Days
The consultancy team is estimated to be undertaken within 44 working days during the period of LateOctober 2025 and to be completed by the end of January 2026. A detailed timeline will be worked out jointly with the consultants after recruitment. The consultancy team is expected to have two members.
Expected Timeline for Deliverables:
|
Key deliverables |
Timeline |
|
Training plan consolidates agenda, slides, handouts, case studies, pre-/posttest instruments, and practical recommendations on setting up safe and accessible counselling spaces (student-friendly communication and reducing stigma around counselling. (in English and Vietnamese) |
by 5 November 2025 |
|
Delivery of two 2-day advanced training courses in Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau Provinces for school counsellors (Teachers who are in charge of school counselling), health workers and other teachers.
|
by 30 December 2025 |
|
Detailed Training Reports for each training course, including participant feedback, lessons learned, the results of pre-/post-test and recommendations for follow-up action in English. After the review by Plan International, prepare them in Vietnamese (in English and Vietnamese) |
by 30 January 2026 |
8. Budget
The consultants are required to propose a detailed budget for this consultancy together with the technical proposal, and submit to PIV for review and approval. The budget should include number of working days and daily rate (including tax) for the lead consultant(s) and in-country team members. The consultancy fee does not include traveling, field work and logistic costs that will be paid for directly by PIV.
9. Management
Consultant(s) will conduct the consultancy based on the workplan and methodology agreed with Plan International Vietnam.
Project Manager and Project Coordinator in PIV Country Office will be the focal person to coordinate the consultant hire, work plan, methodology and review reports to ensure the report meets criteria.
Provincial Partnership Managers (PPMs) at Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang 2 Program Units are focal persons and are responsible to coordinate and arrange the field work and logistics for the trainings as well as input comments during finalization of the reports.
10. Qualifications and Experience of the Consultants
PIV is looking for a consultant/expert (or a group of experts) with strong records in conducting capacity-building related to school health and counselling, SRHR, CSE, community development and empowerment, participatory development and methodologies, asset-based community development, gender-based violence, child marriage and adolescent pregnancy prevention, and youth activism, particularly in Vietnamese and mountainous, ethnic minority community’s context.
The consultants / experts will need respect and credibility within the field, excellent knowledge of developing training curricula, age-appropriate CSE modules, and participatory training methods in theory and practice, and a good understanding of education and health policy frameworks.
Required Competencies:
- Demonstrable expertise (5 to 10 years) on community participatory development and empowerment, asset-based community development, community engagement and policy advocacy, GBV, SRHR, CSE training for educators and school counsellors, and children’s participation.
- Proven experience (5 to 10 years) in conducting needs assessments and developing training modules, curricula, and materials, especially on CSE, adolescent health (both mental and physical), and gender-responsive counselling approaches for primary and secondary school contexts.
- Strong understanding of human sexuality, adolescent development, behavior change theories, and relevant pedagogical approaches, including familiarity with evidence-based frameworks.
- Demonstrated skills in facilitating advanced training workshops for teachers, school counsellors, and health workers, as well as multi-stakeholder/working group and inter-sectoral consultations; ability to respond constructively to feedback while meeting deadlines.
- Sound knowledge of the governance and cultural context in Vietnam, including education systems and socio-cultural sensitivities around gender, sexuality, and child protection.
- Substantial understanding of gender equality, human rights, and health, and the ability to apply learner-centered and participatory training methodologies in practice.
- Knowledge of women’s and children’s rights: previous experience conducting research with children and vulnerable groups would be considered an asset;
- Familiarity with effective and contextually relevant school-based CSE and SRHR programs globally, particularly those targeting ethnic minority populations and age groups.
- Ability to ensure ethical and child-safe approaches, including experience in working with vulnerable children and demonstrated application of child protection standards in training and education delivery.
- Excellent communication and reporting skills in English both verbal and written (necessary).
11. Contact
Consultants/ experts who are interested in taking this consultancy, please submit the proposal package in English via email to: [email protected]
12. Applications
Interested applicants provide a proposal covering the following aspects:
- Detailed response to the TOR
- Proposed methodology
- Ethics and child safeguarding approaches, including any identified risks and associated mitigation strategies
- Proposed timelines
- CVs
- Example of previous work
- Detailed budget for the consultancy includes number of working days and daily consultancy rate (gross, including tax according to the Vietnamese Law) and excludes field-related cost such as accommodation, transport, and other logistics costs in the field.)
The deadline for submitting the proposal package will be no later than 15:00 on 17th October 2025.
Only short-listed consultant groups will be contacted for interview.
ANNEX 1: Materials for consultant desk review. Counselling guidelines on CSE for secondary teachers and students (to be shared if consultants are selected) shall be utilized for the training.
- General Guidance for School counselling
- Needs Assessment Report on Quality of School Counselling Service
- The presentation of key findings of the School counselling assessment
- Handout for school counsellor on Online child sexual harassment Abuse and Exploitation
- Guidance on Child Protection in Emergency for School Counsellors ANNEX 2: Reporting template