I'm not sure if the PPL syllabus is exactly the same everywhere, but regardless, I find the slow flight excercise extremely valuable for many things. And we bring the aircraft (DA40D) down to at least 60 knots with and without flap. The problems that students seem to have are coordinating power and pitch attitude to maintain level flight as well as maintaining direction - not enough rudder. This requires a lot of coordination and attention to the trend of the aircraft. Once they can handle cruise - 60 knots and back with various flap movement they aslo seem to handle circuits better.
I have noticed a difference between students that had trouble getting the slow flight right vs those who didn't when it came to flying circuits.
With regards to stalling and spinning we don't spin but focus on stall and recovery. Also demonstrate cross control and spin entry and recovery.
I'm always anxious that a student thinks it's so much fun he'll go out and do it himself, on his own...
How far do you normally push the stall/recovery portion ?