It's a bit of a grey area sometimes but....
In my experience as an instructor, the sessions leading up to the first solo are a delicate time. Each session should slowly build upon the lessons learnt in the previous. therefore, shooting of to do crosswinds, PFL, Inst flight etc just upsets that balance and on return to the circuits, needs some remedial work to get back to the standard they were at. Usually seen as a way of flying schools getting a hour of revenue they might have lost otherwise.
However, students vary and an instructor may be able to make productive time of the session on some occasions.
Training programs have been in place for a long time and don't have crosswinds etc before the first solo. Best not to mess with that. If you feel your school is just flying for they're profits and not your learning...vote with your feet.