Personally I think that the SRA was a good confidence builder for the student to consolidate some basic IF skills. But it mustn't give him the feeling that it's something he could do solo without further training.
Curiously, I've found with IMC rating testing that the playstation generation who play with computer toys like MS FlightSim can fly the needles tolerably well, but find listening to ATC directions whilst flying IF far more taxing. Hence they can play about flying 'procedural approaches' on a PC, but real radar vectored ILS approaches, SRAs or PARs are often poorly flown as the student misses RT calls or wanders off datums whilst trying to work out what to say.
In 1968, my one hour of PPL IF training concluded with the instructor pattering me through a SRA - flying headings, speeds and rates of descent until he took control, told me to take off that horrible hood and then to land on the RW directly ahead!
As for the demo ILS brigade, I agree entirely with The Dean. I noticed some wannabee airliner-driver FIs doing that at the student's expense, so now require that no-one teaches IF before the student has completed circuit consolidation and has demonstrated that he/she can take-off, depart the CTR via the standard VFR departure route, reposition for a standard VFR arrival and complete a couple of circuits - all without FI assistance.