London: Mary Poppins has had its rating raised over “discriminatory language” – 60 years after the film’s release.

The British Board of Film Classification has now deemed parts of the 1964 classic about a magical nanny unsuitable for children to watch alone.

The rating has been upgraded from U, meaning it is suitable for all, to Parental Guidance because of the use of the derogatory term “Hottentot”.

Coined in the late 17th century to refer to the Khoekhoe, a group of people who were among the first inhabitants of southern Africa, the term is now considered to be racially offensive.

Admiral Boom, a neighbour of the Banks family in the film, says “Hottentots” twice – first about people offscreen and then when talking about the two children whose faces are blackened with soot.

A BBFC spokesman told the Daily Mail: “We understand from our racism and discrimination research … that a key concern for … parents is the potential to expose children to discriminatory language or behaviour which they may find distressing or repeat without realising the potential offence.”

The live-action and animation film, starring Julie Andrews as the nanny who transforms the lives of two children who feel neglected by their parents, is being re-released in select UK cinemas next month to celebrate the film’s 60th anniversary.

Classifiers picked up on the dated and racially offensive term – historically used by Europeans to refer to the Khoekhoe but later used to refer to all black people – and deemed it necessary to reclassify.