In my opinion I think that experience in the workplace would stand your daughter in good stead. I know that the Admission staff at Teeside believe experience to be of great value, as someone who has experience of healthcare will understand what the job entails and the chances of dropping out pre-registration is decreased. As I said, I am doing the advanced diploma course. This course is no longer available at Teeside for new students. From what I can gather from speaking to tutors is that this is because the drop out rate for the advanced diploma was too high and it was thought that the basic diploma would result in a better pass rate.
Universities lose great sums of money for students leaving pre reg.
So they aim to produce as many qualified nurses as possible. The Adv dip course has been criticised for its academic nature, this however does not reflect my view as I wish to continue onto degree. If your daughter is doing A levels she should cope with any of the courses in my opinion as she will be used to researching, writing assignments and organising her workload. As to opinions about certain universities I don't really feel qualified to comment as I only have knowledge of Teeside. However, I know that there has been a recent review and league table rating all the teaching establishments.