Introduction: Usual training for care home staff in the UK tends to focus on manual handling, fire safety, and safeguarding, rather than helping care staff understand how to communicate with older people, including those living with dementia (Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, 2014). However, previous research indicates that projects with artist practitioners engaging with people living with dementia in care homes also benefitted staff through learning new skills and increasing their understanding of the residents as individuals. Objectives: This project aimed to develop and test a ‘Creative Conversations’ staff development intervention which used an arts-in-health approach to improve the quality of interaction between carers and people living with dementia and the knowledge and skills of the dementia care workforce. 'Creative Conversations’ is based on and takes its inspiration from two earlier programmes: the Descartes project (Zeilig et al.,2015) and The Arts and Older People Project (Killick, 2015). Methods: This exploratory study examined the feasibility and impact of the ‘Creative Conversations’ staff development intervention in a care home setting. Throughout the study, a collaborative approach ensured that those thought to benefit from the staff development programme (care staff, people living with dementia, older people, family carers and Social Services) were involved in the design and implementation. A pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial explored whether there was a change in the quality of interaction between care staff and residents living with dementia, knowledge and skills, job satisfaction, and burnout of care staff, and social care-related quality of life of residents with dementia following the intervention. The exploratory nature of the study meant it was not powered to demonstrate effectiveness of the intervention but findings will inform a definitive trial. Results: Nine care homes participated in the main study, with a total of 38 care home staff (mean age 42; 100% female) taking part. Preliminary qualitative findings suggest that ‘Creative Conversations’ enabled staff to gain a deeper understanding of resident personalities and needs as well as an enhanced awareness of their existing practices. Participants also appreciated the unique delivery and style of the sessions. This paper also presents preliminary qualitative findings from the trial. Along with these results, challenges and successes of the design of the project will be highlighted to enable the sharing of best-practice for evaluating complex interventions in care home settings. Conclusion: An arts-in-health approach to care staff development offers an alternative to traditional training. Important implications have been learned regarding the feasibility of a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial in care homes. References: Older People’s Commissioner for Wales (2014) A place to call home? A review into the quality of life and care of older people living in care homes in Wales. Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Cardiff, UK. http://www.olderpeoplewales.com/en/Reviews/Residential_Care_Review/ReviewReport.aspx Arts and Older People Project & Killick, J. (2015) The best words, in the best order. A toolkit for making poems in dementia care settings. Courtyard Theatre, Hereford, UK. https://www.courtyard.org.uk/assets/CY-poetry-toolkit-small.pdf Zeilig, Poland, Killick & Fox, 2015, The arts in Dementia Care Education, Journal of Public Mental Health 14(1) 18-23.