Sodexo's team at Colchester's army garrison won the Extra Mile Award at the Foodservice Cateys for paid routes into work for young people with SEND.

The catering team that feeds Colchester’s army garrison has won a national award for helping young people with special educational needs and disabilities into paid work. Sodexo Colchester PFI took the Extra Mile Award at the Foodservice Cateys on Friday 9 October.

The Cateys are run by the trade title The Caterer. Its editorial team judged this award, and there was no shortlist for it.

What the team did

The work was started by Laura Moorcroft, Sodexo’s regional support manager, at what The Caterer describes as “a major Ministry of Defence contract in Colchester”. She set it up after joining the company’s Ability Network, a staff group.

It was built in partnership with Essex Cares, now ECL, which supports people with learning disabilities, autism and other neurodivergent conditions. According to the award write-up, the programme:

  • changed how the site interviews, so candidates can bring a work coach, see the questions in advance and get extra help entering the military site
  • set up a supported internship for 16 to 24-year-olds with special educational needs and disabilities
  • trained managers, including a session on the Autism Reality Experience bus, which simulates sensory overload for people who are not autistic
  • ran inclusivity workshops on the reasonable adjustments managers can make

The results so far

The Caterer gives these figures:

Measure Figure
Neurodivergent candidates now in permanent roles 4
Interns who have gone on to a permanent job 1
New interns who started in September 2026 4
Years the internship has run 2, now in its second year

The parents of the intern who stayed on said he now works full time in the officers’ mess. “The skills and insights he gained have enabled him to be successful in gaining full-time employment,” they told the judges.

The parents of a second intern, a young woman, said the scheme “showcases the key role that people with disabilities can, should and do play in the local business community”.

Who runs the garrison’s catering

Sodexo has worked at Colchester Garrison since before it was rebuilt. Its defence arm mobilised the garrison’s private finance initiative (PFI) contract on 1 June 2004, according to a case study on FMLink. That 35-year deal, run by the RMPA Services consortium, was put at over £2bn. Sodexo provides the “soft” services, of which catering and cleaning make up about a quarter.

What it means for you

If you care for a young person aged 16 to 24 with special educational needs or a disability, a supported internship is one route into paid work. This one shows it can lead to a permanent job with a large Colchester employer.

  • Ask your child’s college or school about supported internships for next September.
  • ECL, the former Essex Cares, is the partner on the garrison scheme. Its supported employment page explains how to refer someone.
  • All the 2026 winners are in The Caterer’s round-up of the night.