AN Ellesmere Port primary school has shown solidarity with an assistant headteacher who came under fire for promoting LGBT rights.

Rossmore Primary School held a celebratory Inclusion Day on Friday, March 15, with a series of workshops and guest speakers helping to promote diversity and kindness.

As well as promoting the message of inclusion and diversity, one of the aims of the event was to show support for Andrew Moffat, assistant headteacher at Parkfield Community School in Alum Rock, Birmingham.

Mr Moffat had recently been the subject of threats and protests from parents, after he helped raise awareness of LGBT rights and homophobia at the school.

The assistant headteacher, who was made an MBE in 2017 for services to equality and diversity in education, is the author of No Outsiders in Our School: Teaching the Equality Act in Primary Schools.

He received a warm welcome at Rossmore Primary on Friday afternoon before he spoke at an open Q&A session at the school.

Guest speakers on the day included Sarah Devoy, a Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighter at Powey Lane Fire Station; Christian Owens, a trans police officer for Merseyside Police; Curtis Watt, a performance poet and actor; Tabatha Salmon, an English language and history student at the University of Chester who has mild cerebral palsy; and Preet Dosanjh, a competing bodybuilder originally from India.

Amy Whittle, safeguarding, pastoral and inclusion lead at Rossmore Primary, was delighted with how the Inclusion Day went.

She said: "It was probably one of the best days I have ever been involved in, it was well received by everybody.

"The children were superb, they were so interested and mature in the questions they were asking, really respectful."

Ms Whittle, who also gave a talk as part of the Inclusion Day, is an autistic adult who received an adult diagnosis and has worked in both primary and secondary schools in Ellesmere Port, mainly with children with special educational needs and disabilities.

She added of the day: "It was all very celebratory and the contributors were exchanging numbers and their experiences, and everybody stayed behind and chatted to them.

"It was a real feel-good celebration and really unique, I was very happy to be part of it.

"Andrew Moffat said it was just the tonic he needed."

During the Q&A, in a packed school hall attended by parents, carers and Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders, Mr Moffat referred to the awful events in New Zealand earlier that day, when 50 people were killed in the Christchurch terror attack.

Ms Whittle added: "He said: 'These events are the reason why we should promote tolerance and acceptance. You don't have to be a member of a minority group to show support'."

Each talk focused on inclusion and diversity. Firefighter Sarah Devoy highlighted how Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service prided itself on inclusivity, while police officer Christian Owens talked about the progress Merseyside Police had made for the better.

Performance poet Curtis Watt explained how he had experienced racism and focused on how friendship can be a positive force to help people understand more about multiculturalism, while student Tabatha Salmon explained how her cerebral palsy had let to her being bullied at high school.

Competitive bodybuilder Preet Dosanjh explained how she had moved from India to England in 2010 and was not able to speak any English, and how she had previously been in a difficult marriage from the age of 16, but was now a successful personal trainer.

As well as the talks, all year groups at the school from Reception to Year 6 took part in a series of workshops on ethnicity and race, disability, gender stereotypes and LGBT+ throughout the day.