The scenario outlined by M is admirable, but rare. How many students actually read their school’s ops manual even if asked to sign it, especially if it looks like a couple of hundred pages of verbiage. Such documentation’s primary purpose is getting the school its JAA training approval, and can bear little relationship to the practical training situation. Essentially, it’s just a bureaucratic sham.
As for “extra training”, it is amazing that flight schools can continue to get away with advertising on the basis of minimum hours when only a small proportion of individuals actually achieve this. This is fundamentally fraudulent advertising, creating false expectations, yet no-one seems to take any action on it.
It should be remembered that flying training is a two-sided thing, and that while students will vary in ability, so too will instructors. The fact that many instructors do not have the required teaching skills will inevitably lead to extra cost and time for the student. Of course this results in extra money for the school, so there is no incentive to improve on what is in effect an institutionalised racket. This is especially the case for the more experienced who should be well used to addressing new flying skills.