The big day is here: Our revamped playgrounds are set to be unveiled...

Guess where I'm going this afternoon.

I'm delighted to report I'm off to Kings Heath in Birmingham to see the unveiling of new play equipment paid for by £15,000 provided by Robinsons Fruit Shoot through our Parents for Playgrounds scheme.

It has been a fantastically positive and rewarding task for me to be involved with this worthwhile and much valued campaign which had the simple aim of helping children play more, in decent, safe surroundings at its heart.

In the coming days, all of the five winners will see the improvements officially launched and here at Ready for Ten, we'll be reporting some more on their progress.

To see the final results will be the icing on the cake. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the parents who have worked so hard to promote and protect the benefits of play for their children and am proud to be part of the team that has made this happen.

When we asked you to let us know if your local playground, park or play area needed a bit of work, we didn't expect to be inundated with pleas for help. Yet that's just what happened as as more than 1,000 sites were suggested. 

Across the country, parents told us why they felt their community's children could benefit from a renovation bursary.

Experts at Play England joined us in our quest to find the most deserving sites and lovely Patsy Kensit threw her might behind us too.

After more than 5,000 shortlist votes from parents across the UK, the following five playgrounds have been given a facelift after receiving a renovation bursary of up to £15,000.

• St Margaret's Playground, Edinburgh
• Cockshaugh Playground in St Andrews
• Chardstock Playground in Devon
• Ropsley Park in Lincolnshire
• Kings Heath Park in Birmingham

The background

Since February, our Robinsons Fruit Shoot Parents for Playgrounds campaign has asked you to nominate and vote for local playgrounds, to help promote and preserve traditional outdoor play around the country and ensure that the UK’s children stay active, healthy and happy.

Twenty playgrounds were shortlisted by Robinsons Fruit Shoot, the expert play charity and backers of the campaign, Play England, and celebrity supporter, Patsy Kensit.

Then, on Tuesday 29th March the power was passed back to the UK’s parents, as we opened up voting.

We wanted to encourage communities to get behind their local playground and vote for it.

Patsy Kensit, who is supporting the campaign and guest edited our site when it first got off the ground says: “It’s been wonderful to see how much support there has been for Robinsons Fruit Shoot’s Parents for Playground campaign.

"Congratulations to all the winning playgrounds and thanks to everyone who voted. I can’t wait to see the finished results!”

The campaign is also backed by Play England, the national organisation which aims for all children in England to have the freedom and space to play throughout childhood. Play Scotland is also supporting the campaign.

Watch this space

Look out for our reports of how the playgrounds have shaped up for the future thanks to Robinsons Fruit Shoot - we can't wait!