I would say two things to keep in mind are:
1. SLRs are large and can be a pain to carry around with you. Their two main benefits are large sensor size and more importantly, interchangeable lenses. If she is not into photography, it's not going to teach her the basics of composition any more than a point and shoot will.
2. Nikon's low and mid range cameras, the D3000 and D5000 series both lack focus motors in the body. This means you are restricted to buying their new AF-S lenses if you want autofocus (hint: you do), which means no old lens bargains on eBay. For the most part, this will be fine, as apart from the kit lens what she will most likely be after is a good standard prime, and Nikon make an excellent and very cheap (by lens standards)
35mm lens.
I would have a look at Canon's offerings as well. The 1200D is only £250 on Amazon and is the best selling SLR on there. Canon, not being cheap gits, include motors in the body so you can use practically any of their own lenses, though somewhat perversely, their 35mm costs more than the Nikon. I don't really keep up with new models though, so have a look at comparisons of it and the D3200.