Another one with a youngest starting secondary this time. ds1 is already there and having a wonderful time (yr8) and I work in a different secondary (Academy), so I don't have many questions!
ds2 only knows 5 children going to his new school and 4 of them are girls, so he is a bit worried. But I'm sure he will be fine once he gets there and settles in.
Anna - Learning Manager is a title that covers various different roles in secondary these days.
One option is a pastoral leader, but someone who is support staff rather than a teacher. So there might be a Head of Lower School, or Head of House or Head of Year 7 (teacher roles), but then this is supported by a Learning Manager, who does much of the day-to-day, on-the-ground sorting out bits and pieces and doing the admin work. At our school these are "House Managers" and they do a superb job and actually have a lot of authority and responsibility, but are very approachable for the students.
Sometimes this title is used for a mentor-type role, where your child has a named person that they can go to to discuss any concerns or problems, but primarily to monitor their progress against targets and co-ordinate any interventions required if there isn't progress.
In other schools form tutors can be given this title - ours are "Learning Group Leaders". And in some schools TAs are called Learning Managers.
So, take your pick!