The first in-person meeting brought together the five full-fledged partners to consolidate the conceptual, methodological, and organizational foundations of the project. The major focus was the collaborative development of the initial research instruments, particularly a questionnaire and interview protocol structured around five key dimensions related to CLIL implementation: national curriculum, school policy, leadership and support, teaching and learning, and teacher development. These instruments are the first step in the development of the Inclusive Bilingual Education Quality Assurance Framework, which is the core of the project. Participants carefully reviewed and refined the items, assessing their clarity and relevance, reorganizing content when necessary, and ensuring that inclusion was embedded across all dimensions from an equity perspective. Clear agreements were reached regarding the validation process, expert review, pilot study, translation into partner languages, and the timeline for administration. Responsibilities were distributed among teams, and concrete deadlines were established to guide the next stages of the research.

In addition to methodological work, the meeting strengthened coordination among partners and clarified strategic directions for collaboration with participating schools and dissemination. In order to do so, updates were shared about associated partner schools, and plans were made to engage them through an upcoming online briefing and continued collaboration. The participating schools in Jaén were all invited to one of the sessions for face-to-face interaction. Regarding dissemination, the group discussed the preparation of a special issue in a top-tier journal, identifying potential high-impact publication venues and outlining authorship expectations. Future conference participation was also planned, including the presentation of preliminary findings at the upcoming II NEOLAiA International Symposium on Language Policy and potential contributions to other international CLIL-related events.

Communication and visibility were another important strand of the meeting. Partners agreed on the structure and content of the project website, including institutional profiles and information about schools and activities. A comprehensive social media strategy was designed, identifying platforms, types of content, and posting frequency to ensure sustained outreach. The meeting concluded with a recap of agreed actions, a schedule of monthly online meetings, confirmation of the next in-person gathering, and the creation of initial materials for social media. Overall, the sessions reinforced collaboration, clarified shared goals, and established a clear and coordinated roadmap for the project’s continued development.

Links to the detailed agenda and full meeting minutes can be found here.