Social connection is a public health priority. Connecting meaningfully at an individual level, where a person feels seen, heard and valued, is essential to form social connections, and positively impacts across a person’s health and wellbeing, leading to a more enriching life. However, an estimated one in four older adults are socially isolated, and individual, systemic, and structural barriers within care homes limit opportunities for meaningful connection in this population. Aim: To explore care home leaders’ perceptions of meaningful connections within their care home, including opportunities for connection, mechanisms to make them meaningful, and the outcomes of those connections. Methods: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews (n=11) were undertaken with a purposive sample of care home leaders across one region of the United Kingdom using MS Teams for audio-recording and transcription. Directed content analysis, based on deductive and inductive coding and guided by the Person-centred Practice framework, was used to analyse the data. Results: Connecting during personal care, reminiscing with the residents and families, connecting within the care home through personalised activities, and building links with the wider community were key opportunities identified for connection. Getting to know and appreciate the person, being present, providing holistic and personalised care, engaging authentically to spark joy, and sharing in decision making to build a sense of belonging and togetherness were central mechanisms to promote meaningful connection among residents, relatives, and staff in care homes. Care home managers perceived those meaningful connections led to positive experiences for residents, relatives, and staff. Conclusion: The most important opportunities for meaningful connections were in the day-to-day personal care, helping to remove some of the barriers reported around lack of time and funding to organise structured activities. Moving forward it is essential to work with care homes to develop mechanisms to collect formal evidence around the impact of meaningful connections.