SOCIAL workers struggle to spot the warning signs that a child is being targeted for online sex abuse and need more support, new research has revealed.

A survey of social workers revealed half of them felt concerned about dealing with online sexual abuse or behaviour, while more than two-thirds felt they needed more support with cases involving online abuse.

The survey, carried out by the British Association of Social Workers and the NSPCC, found 50% do not know how to recognise the signs of online sexual abuse of children, while 36% did not know the right questions to ask to identify and assess online sexual abuse

A third (34%) of social workers surveyed said they do not feel confident about understanding the language used by young people online, and 47% said they were not knowledgeable about how young people communicate via social networking sites.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: "The NSPCC is developing an e-learning course in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to help social workers get up to speed on this rapidly evolving world."