The policy, written by friends Claire Hunter and Hazel Cross, will now provide a standardised level of support for those pupils with the disease.

Claire began a campaign to raise awareness of the condition last year, after her 12-year-old son Connor, a pupil at Glenrothes High School and an insulin dependent diabetic, was sent home from an excursion amid fears he would not cope with the activity involved.

The incident prompted Claire and Hazel, whose four-year-old daughter Leia is also diabetic, to start the Diabetes in Education Awareness for the Long-term (DEAL) Campaign, which included a questionnaire issued to the parents of 120 nursery and school age children with diabetes across Fife.

The results revealed a number of issues including children having to inject insulin in cupboards and toilets, pupils being sent home by teachers due to a lack of understanding of the condition, and parents having to attend schools to administer injections to those children unable to self-inject.

The campaign has since generated a huge response from parents, Fife Council's education service and NHS Fife's Diabetes Specialist Team, and has been supported by MSP Tricia Marwick.

Ten months on, it has resulted in Scotland's first dedicated policy for the management of diabetes in schools.

The policy enables parents and schools to set out tailored health care plans, arrange access to food and drink and provide a designated area to inject insulin. It also ensures that relevant members of staff are educated in how to assist children, including support assistants trained to administer insulin injections.

It is hoped the policy will be introduced across Scotland's other local authorities so that no matter where a child goes to school, their condition can be fully accommodated.

Claire said: "This is by no means the end of the challenges we expect to face when securing better management of diabetes in schools, however, it is the first vitally important step, as we now have recognition that diabetes is a condition that does require management in schools.

"Indeed work surrounding this policy has generated interest throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK."

Hazel added: "We recognise the fantastic work carried out by the diabetes specialist team in Fife and we are grateful for the support they have given the campaign.

"We are also very pleased with the way the education service has responded to this important issue."

MSP Tricia Marwick said, given rising diabetes rates - an average of 24 new cases among under-16s in the Kingdom are diagnosed each year - Fife should be congratulated for leading the way on a schools' policy.