Leading services company Sodexo has won a three year, £3.9 million contract with Wellspring Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust (MAT) operating in Yorkshire and the Humber region, to manage and deliver catering and hospitality services across initially 12 schools.

The schools will benefit from Sodexo’s new modern school food offer, Food & Co. by Sodexo, which moves away from tradition and has been developed following research conducted with pupils in key stages 2, 3 and 4 (ages 7-16) to understand the type of food they like, how they would like to eat it, as well as their preferred dining environment and experience.

Wellspring is an ambitous and growing MAT made up of schools in the Barnsley, Kirklees, Leeds, North East Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire areas. Its academies are a mix of seven primary schools, one secondary school, four special educational needs (SEND) schools and four alternative academies. Four brand new schools also have opening dates, throughout the year.

Sodexo will introduce a range of added value programmes across all the academies to empower and inspire pupils to get involved in service development and develop a lifelong love of food and cooking. These include Agents for Change, which sees peer-elected pupils take on the role of food and health champions, and Project Cook, a school cookery programme.

Sodexo will run workshops with pupils from Wellspring schools to shape the new dining environment, as part of its Agents for Change programme. The programme gives pupils a voice in their dining experience at their school, ensuring it’s an inclusive and positive one for all. This will encourage more pupils to use Sodexo’s school food service, meaning more pupils are receiving a nutritious and wholesome meal every day.

Catering for SEND schools requires an individualised approach; one-size-fits-all menus do not work. Many pupils have special dietary needs and exhibit behaviours which require Sodexo’s staff to adapt their menus and style of service delivery. Wellspring Academy Trust will benefit from Sodexo’s experience of working with SEND schools across the UK.

The new offer and support programmes are  in line with Wellspring Academy Trust’s ethos of ‘Making a Difference’ and empowering pupils to make informed choices and realise their potential.

Matt Garner, Managing Director for Schools, Sodexo commented; “We are delighted to be working with Wellspring and excited to be launching Food & Co. by Sodexo with them. Our core values are strongly aligned and this provides us with a really strong foundation from which to build a partnership.”

Josh Greaves, Chief Operating Officer, Wellspring Academy Trust said; “As we work to build a strong community of academies informed by our growth strategy, it is important we have trusted service partners who can work with us to achieve our goals. We were very impressed with Sodexo’s pupil-centred, insight-led apporoach and look forward to enjoying their healthy and tasty food.”

Food & Co. by Sodexo has been developed following research conducted with pupils in key stages 2,3 and 4 (ages 7-16) to understand the type of food they like, as well as why and how they would like to eat it.

The research revealed that pupils have more sophisticated palates than ever before. They also have a strong understanding of restaurant brands and want to eat in a relaxed environment that allows them time and space to connect with friends.

‘Schools by Sodexo’ brings together an integrated suite of services including premises management, cleaning, grounds maintenance and asset management.  It also includes an updated, modern school food brand - Food & Co. by Sodexo.

Sodexo currently works with 125 schools in the state sector and has over 10 years’ experience delivering integrated facilities services to schools across the UK and Ireland. The new offer is designed to meet the needs of multi-academy trusts and local authorities who are increasingly looking for suppliers who can offer greater standardisation and integration of services across their schools.

Back to the list