Thanks for the replies all, given me a few things to think about.
I was leaning towards a geared bike due to my experiences when I was 16 (back in 1988 before the CBT was brought in). I was given a Honda City Express by my stepdad and practiced in a car park. The first day I twisted the throttle too much, the bike leapt forward, I slid back hanging onto the throttle, which made the bike speed up even more until I fell off. Knocked my confidence bigtime.
Obviously if you do that on a geared bike you grip the clutch and cut the drive, much safer, which I did during my CBT 3 years ago.
Having said that, during my CBT, once I'd learned to make the machine work the roadcraft aspect wasn't a problem as I've been driving for years.
This makes me think riding an easier twist & go would give her less to deal with during her CBT, and give her a year's head start for when she upgrades to a 125 at 17.
A couple of you have recommended waiting until she's 17, but she's the youngest of all her classmates (all already 16), and they'll be riding 125's while she's still on a 50 so she's desperate to get out on the road ASAP.
And we are avoiding Chinese shite like the plague, but have to admit the Gilera DNA does interest me now, to get her used to riding a proper shaped bike.
Off to trawl eBay now!