UAI is (supposedly) reflective of only the supply & demand for a course
The number of places for teaching at Newcastle is very large (~1000 in all fields, I couldn't tell you exactly how many of those spots are for primary teachers)
And the interest in doing teaching among the "academically elite" at high schools is fairly low, with plenty of exceptions obviously.
So the UAI has dropped steadily over the last few years from mid-70s to a flat 60... in reality you can probably get in with under 60, but they tend to have a minimum figure they're willing to publish as it's too embarrassing otherwise.
If you're a local there's a 4 point bonus as well, so you could effectively get in with anything over about 50.
I'm doing secondary so I won't comment on the course, although the first year education subjects are general for all teachers, and mostly purely academic/theoretical that you may or may not find useful or interesting.
The faculty itself has (or has had recently) some great academics and achieved a lot in terms of its research being taken up by schools, I don't know of any other uni in NSW that's done more in that way.
