Tom Butt

After two years in the role, Ian Allsop asks King’s Hawford’s head Tom Butt what he’s learned so far

Tom Butt succeeded Jennie Phillips as the head of King’s Hawford in rural Worcestershire in November 2022. The school, part of the King’s Foundation family, is a prep school for pupils aged two to 11.

Butt was educated at the Judd School in Kent before reading exercise and sport sciences at the University of Exeter, where he also studied for his PGCE. Before King’s Hawford, he was deputy head at Bredon School near Tewkesbury. Prior to that he was director of sport at Dover College and held posts in Chile and Switzerland.

He is a keen sportsman with a particular passion for rugby – captaining Kent at age group level – and mountain biking. Passionate about the outdoors, he’s a smallholder in his own right, enjoys travel and country pursuits, and is upon his appointment specifically cited as very much looking forward to being the new custodian of Hawford’s animals.

As this was his first head post, looking back, how prepared does he think he was for the reality of the role? He admits: “I don’t think anyone is fully prepared when they start a new role, and anyone who says they are is probably not telling the truth. I had an idea of what to expect but the first assembly was probably the most daunting moment, ensuring I pitched it right to all the children, and not just the oldest, with whom I had had most prior experience of working with. When one enters a new role, particularly in leadership, I think it’s incumbent on us to try to get fully under the skin of the organisation before we give any forthright opinions and certainly before making any changes. I felt very quickly that I was able to trust the colleagues around me to be transparent and honest about what the school needed.”

When asked what has gone well on a day-to-day basis, and what lessons have been learnt, he says that lessons are ongoing for everyone. “It is important to realise that each of us is no doubt very good at some things, and probably competent at many more, but no one can do everything. In a busy school we have to be able to rely on each other and the team that we work with, and I hope it is the case that I have allowed colleagues to do their jobs and grow their own strengths alongside my specific role. This will no doubt continue to evolve.”

While the nature of the role means there have been many specific one-off challenges, he considers the most challenging situations are always those around the welfare of individual children or family emergencies that are obviously unplanned. “We can never take the place of families, but we do need to be able to offer appropriate support if children or families suffer loss or are going through tough times. We get to know our children and their families extremely well and feel rightly invested in the wellbeing of our school community.”

When considering the position he states that the strongest feeling he had was that the school would not have to change too much to adapt to his arrival, and he would not have to change too much to adapt to the school. “It was a good fit, which can never be underestimated. The DNA of King’s Hawford is its balance of challenge and nurture, which is rooted in our approach to learning outside of the classroom, an emphasis on a hugely rich co-curricular programme, and great ambition in academic work, all underpinned by children embracing every opportunity that comes their way. Each of these fits with my own educational background, and what I place importance on as a parent for my own children.”

Each independent school can claim to have something ‘unique’ about it. What does he recognise as King’s Hawford’s particular strength? “The ‘have a go’ culture that the children have created. It is our job to facilitate as many opportunities as possible for them, and theirs to embrace it, which they do in spades. New children joining the school realise within the first week that it is cool to do everything, and quickly get swept up in the rhythm of school life.

Paramount to a being a successful head are the relationships with other stakeholders. Butt breaks down how he manages each one.

“With pupils it is about trying to be as approachable as possible and for them to see me in as many different situations as possible, not just sitting behind my desk answering emails (which would be very easy to do).

“Staff need to be treated with honesty and transparency, and by working in a collaborative way when making tweaks or introducing change. Listening more than talking (again, I hope), and encouraging colleagues to make their wellbeing a priority.”

He counsels that with parents, you need to treat them as adults, and be respectfully direct when communicating. “If we say we will do something, follow through and do it. Listen and admit when we’ve got things wrong.”

With governors he highlights having regular committee meetings, termly visits and trying to ensure they hear different voices when they come into school – not just his.

And with the bursar – or director of finance in King’s Hawford’s case – they engage as part of the foundation leadership team. “We meet weekly and work very collaboratively to sensibly manage budgets and spend.”

Reflecting on the nature of what leadership means to him now, and whether it has changed since he took the role, he says: “For me, the notion of leadership is much the same as it did when I started. An acknowledgement that no one person can do everything and if I try and get into the detail of everyone else’s roles I won’t see the bigger picture. Trust your colleagues to deliver in their roles, and if it’s not working look at the structure first, then the personnel after. Long-serving members of staff are hugely valuable to a school and often care deeply about what it stands for; get the right structure in place to get the best from them. Always try to model the behaviour that you want a school’s culture to reflect.”

Finally, how many queries have the school had about the thorny VAT on fees issue since it was confirmed? And how does it respond? “We have not had many queries to be honest, and this will likely be because we took the decision to be upfront with parents about the plans over the next couple of years.” A statement confirming an intention not to raise fees in the current academic year is the first thing you see on the school’s website. “This provides a degree of certainty for parents, and they can hopefully plan accordingly, while also acknowledging the great sacrifices many parents make to send their children to our school.”