Sam
That is exactly why only the good aproaches go down to 50ft so if the engine quits it becomes a good landing.
It is all about giving the student the confidence to put an serviceable aircraft into a field when circumstance has painted him into a corner.
When the engine quits a pilot has no decision to make, the aircraft is going to land what ever the pilot does, in the case of bad weather, onset of night or fuel running low it is the pilot who has to make a "command decision" to land, pilots lacking in confidence in their skills to do so are much more likely to seek another way out of the situation and press on.
Unfortunately the numbers are not in favour of those who press on.
This is why I feel it is my duty to make the training as realistic as posable while keeping it safe.
Those who stop every forced landing practice at 500 ft AGL are doing their students a great dis-service, from that height no student is ever going to be 100% confident that he/she could have turned the approach into a good landing.
Unrealistic training is just turning AVGAS into noise.